Dominic Raiola has been the Lions‘ center since the days when they wore leather helmets, but eventually he’ll be moving on from football. He wants to play for another two seasons, but Detroit would like to start grooming someone to take over for Raiola once he retires, writes Dave Bickett of the Detroit Free Press. It’s not a top priority, but if they get a chance in the middle of the draft, don’t be surprised if you see the Lions go for a center. Here’s more out of the NFC..
- Simoni Lawrence turned down three clubs to sign with the Vikings, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
- Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter) expects it to take a deal paying $3-4MM annually for the Giants to sign linebacker Jon Beason to a new deal.
- The Panthers met recently with Drew Rosenhaus, defensive end Greg Hardy‘s agent, and the two sides have had ongoing negotiations, two league sources tell Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. After totaling 26 sacks over the past two seasons, Hardy is looking for a deal that will be commensurate with his performance.
- Beyond Beason, Carolina will be looking to re-sign wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and free safety Michael Mitchell, both of whom played on one-year deals last season, Person notes. Backup quarterback Derek Anderson and No. 2 tight end Ben Hartsock are viewed as priorities as well, but will likely have to take one-year contracts. The Panthers are expected to let free agent receiver Brandon LaFell and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn test the market, but could ultimately re-sign them to shorter, team-friendly deals.