- Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah says that he will ask Ndamukong Suh for advice on contract talks, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. “I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but I will,” Ansah said. The Lions are hoping to lock Ansah down with a contract extension, despite a down year in 2016.
Detroit Lions
At least one NFL source believes Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will wait for the Raiders to extend Derek Carr before working out his own long-term deal, reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Both Oakland and Carr want extension talks to wrap up as quickly as possible, at which point Stafford and his representation would be able to point to Carr’s new figures as a starting point. Detroit is reportedly in the early stages of negotiations with Stafford, who — like Carr — is scheduled to become a free agent in 2018.
There have been whispers about Ezekiel Ansah‘s true age ever since he was drafted in 2013. The Ghana native, some have said, was actually born in 1987, which would mean that he is on the cusp of his 30th birthday rather than his 28th birthday. When the latest round of rumors picked up, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reached out to the Lions for clarity. 
“We believe our published information is accurate — born May 29, 1989,” a team spokesman said in a text message.
As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes, teams around the league viewed Ansah’s passport back during the draft process and confirmed his age. This may not be a 100% foolproof way to verify the age of a player born outside of the U.S., but it’s the best info that the league has as its disposal and the belief remains that he was born in 1989.
Ansah certainly doesn’t want any questions about his age to linger as the team looks to sign him to a long-term extension. The difference between 30 and 28 may seem like splitting hairs to some, but it makes a major difference in the NFL and a discrepancy here would likely cost Ansah millions of dollars.
Ansah was hampered by ankle and shoulder issues in 2016, but he should be in for a bounce back year if he stays healthy. In 2015, Ansah recorded 14.5 sacks and earned his first career Pro Bowl nod.
- The odds of the Lions re-signing free agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin continue to decrease, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. The two sides haven’t had contact in over a month, notes Meinke, who points out that recent developments suggest Boldin won’t return to Detroit for a second year. The Lions used a third-round pick on wideout Kenny Golladay in last week’s draft, for one, and then gave away Boldin’s No. 80 to fourth-round tight end Michael Roberts. (Theoretically, Boldin could get that number back in a negotiation with Roberts, but Meinke regards it as a sign that the Lions are going in another direction.)
- Before signing with the 49ers, notable undrafted free agent tight end Cole Hikutini drew interest from the Saints, Lions, Patriots, and Texans, tweets Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Hikutini, a Louisville product, was a favorite of many draftniks — Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, for instance, graded Hikutini as a fifth- or sixth-round selection. Ultimately, Hikutini landed a $20K guarantee from San Francisco.
The 2017 campaign will be free safety Glover Quin‘s fifth season in Detroit. As a potential contract-year player, it could also be his last season in the Motor City, but Quin hopes that isn’t the case. The 31-year-old has approached the Lions about an extension, writes Kyle Menke of MLive.com.
“I would love to be here in Detroit, and if I sign an extension, I’d probably finish my career here — that’d be huge for me,” Quin said Thursday. “But I can’t control that. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen. My job is like I’ve always said since I got in the league, is I’m a player. So I just play, and I’ll let the coaches coach, the managers manage, and the trainers train.”
While it’s unclear whether the Lions are interested in re-upping Quin, it’s obvious the team has gotten strong production from the former Texan since signing him to a five-year, $23.5MM contract in 2013. In Detroit, Quinn has continued an iron-man streak that dates back to 2010, having missed zero games since then (and he only sat out one in 2009, his rookie year). Quin has also started in each of his appearances going back to Year 2 of his career, and in 64 regular-season games with the Lions, he has piled up 16 interceptions. A career-high seven of those picks came in 2014, Quin’s lone Pro Bowl/All-Pro season, but his quality play has continued even without the accolades. Quin posted 68 tackles and two INTs last year, when he astoundingly played all 1,027 of the Lions’ defensive snaps and ranked an impressive 23rd in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 90 qualified safeties.
Given that he’ll turn 32 next January, Quin’s next deal is unlikely to match his soon-to-expire contract in either length or total value. But the average value of an extension (or a free agent pact next year) could be similar to the $4.7MM mean on his current accord, evidenced by contracts given out during the past two offseasons to over-30 safeties such as the Raiders’ Reggie Nelson (two years, $8.5MM), the Cardinals’ Antoine Bethea (three years, $12.75MM) and the Bears’ Quintin Demps (three years, $13.5MM). All of those players had to leave their previous organizations to land those deals, which Quin is prepared to do if the Lions are uninterested in re-signing him.
“If they feel like I deserve that and have earned that, then they’ll make it happen,” he said. “If not, then I’ll play my year in Detroit and say goodbye to you good people.”
The Lions and executive Brian Xanders have parted ways, as Neil Stratton of Inside The League tweets. Xanders’ departure has been confirmed by Justin Rogers of The Detroit News (Twitter link). 
Xanders was hired by the previous regime in Detroit to serve as the club’s senior personnel executive. With no connections to current GM Bob Quinn, he lost some of his power in the last year and he’ll look for a better opportunity.
From 2009 through 2012, Xanders served as the Broncos’ GM. In recent years, he has been in the mix for multiple top jobs, including the Dolphins’ GM job in 2014 and the Browns’ search for a lead exec last year.
Former Lions GM Martin Mayhew is now with the 49ers’ Senior Personnel Executive, so that could be one potential fit for Xanders as he looks for his next job.
Jamaal Charles says he doesn’t know what his role will be with the Broncos, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
“They just told me to come in and compete,” Charles said. “I really don’t know until the game comes. I’m just happy to be on the team.”
Charles, who signed a one-year deal with a base value of $1MM on Tuesday, did allude that he’ll likely start out handling passing-down work in offensive coordinator Mike McCoy‘s scheme. Denver traded away fellow running back Kapri Bibbs during the draft, so Charles will join a backfield that includes C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker, Juwan Thompson, and sixth-round pick DeAngelo Henderson.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- With the draft in the rear view mirror, Dave Birkett of the Free Press looked at five Lions players who could be on the hot seat. The list starts with running back Ameer Abdullah thanks to his fumbling and health issues. Wide receiver Marvin Jones is also on notice from Birkett’s view after his production fell off after the first month of the 2016 season. Linebacker Tahir Whitehead, defensive lineman Ziggy Ansah, and coach Jim Caldwell round out the list.
- Veteran guard Jahri Evans‘ deal with the Packers is for one year and $2.25MM, tweets Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Evans, 33, will earn a $1.15MM base salary, a $200K signing bonus, $800K in per-game roster bonuses, a $100K workout bonuses, and can bring in an additional $250K via incentives. Green Bay added only one offensive lineman — sixth-rounder Kofi Amichia — in the draft, so Evans looks like the favorite to start at right guard in 2017 (though he’ll likely face competition from Don Barclay and/or Kyle Murphy).
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
It’s early, but contract talks are underway between the Lions and Matthew Stafford, GM Bob Quinn told Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. The quarterback is entering the final year of his deal. 
“We’re in the early stages,” Quinn said. “It’s really too early to kind of give any update but we’re going through the process. These things don’t happen overnight. I feel confident we can get something done.”
Stafford could be in line to become the league’s highest-paid quarterback, supplanting Andrew Luck at the top. Luck signed his five-year, $122.97MM extension last summer, just prior to his 27th birthday. Stafford, meanwhile, is 29, but the rising cap and dearth of quality quarterbacks could result in him netting an even richer deal.
Last year, Stafford performed like a top quarterback as he threw for 4,327 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. The University of Georgia product had the tenth-best completion percentage in the league (65.3%) amongst qualified QBs and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 9 signal caller.
The Lions are hoping for a repeat of that in 2017, but they would like to lock him up now before they are faced with a pricey decision to make on the franchise tag. Tagging Stafford in 2018 would cost upwards of $26MM. Doing it again for 2019 could cost nearly $32MM. Obviously, those cap numbers are unpalatable and the Lions would greatly prefer a long-term deal at a lower yearly rate.
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen veteran running backs Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, and Marshawn Lynch find new homes. However, LeGarrette Blount is still without a job. 
The Lions and Giants are known to be in on Blount, but we can’t help but wonder if there could be other potential fits out there for the player who I consider to be the best running back currently on the market. The PFR staff huddled up on Wednesday to run down possible landing spots for the power back:
- Giants – The Giants have been connected to Blount for some time now and the interest is said to be mutual. The Giants are looking for a bruising running back to complement Paul Perkins and Blount, presumably, wants to join a potential contender, so it’s a solid match. Eli Manning‘s 2016 struggles are well documented, but a well-balanced offense would help him find Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall as much as possible.
- Lions – On paper, the Lions should have had a strong running game with Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick leading the way. Unfortunately, injuries cost both players significant time last year and rookie Dwayne Washington didn’t set the world on fire when given the opportunity. Zach Zenner had some flashes of brilliance, but the lesson learned here is that you can never have enough depth. Blount would be a great counter balance to Abdullah’s speed and Riddick’s reception focused game and he could be called on as the No. 1 guy if the injury bug strikes again.
- Packers – Running back was a clear need for the Packers heading into the draft, but they did not select a top RB from this year’s deep pool of talent. Now, they need running backs even more after releasing Christine Michael and Don Jackson earlier this week. WR-turned-RB Ty Montgomery figures to be the lead guy in Green Bay, but the Packers could use some experience behind him. It’s not clear if the Packers have reached out to Blount’s reps yet, but they should.
- Ravens – You might have missed it in the midst of the free agency frenzy, but the league suspended Kenneth Dixon for the first four games of the season after a PED policy violation. The Ravens can use free agent pickup Danny Woodhead as their lead back in the opening month, but it would make sense to add some depth along with Javorius Allen, Lorenzo Taliaferro, and Terrance West, particularly since Woodhead missed the majority of last season.
- Dolphins – The Dolphins aren’t an obvious fit, but it’s possible that they could be in the market for a running back if Damien Williams continues to stay away from the team. The downside here is that Jay Ajayi is the clear No. 1 guy and Blount would have to fight Kenyan Drake for carries. In a scenario where Miami signs Blount and Williams is eventually brought back into the fold, there would be even less work to go around.
- Chiefs – After moving on from Charles, the Chiefs might want to add some veteran help to a depth chart featuring Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, and rookie Kareem Hunt. C.J. Spiller currently projects as the RB4, but he hasn’t been able to stick with a team in some time.
- Redskins – The Redskins are shopping Matt Jones and that could free up a spot for someone like Blount. The Redskins have four other backs in Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, Keith Marshall, and Mack Brown, but there are no superstars in the bunch.
- Eagles – Ryan Mathews is scheduled to carry a $5MM cap number in 2017 and the Eagles can wipe $4MM of that off of the books by cutting him. Releasing the speedy but aging Darren Sproles would also yield $4MM in savings with zero dead money. At this stage of the offseason, Blount would represent a much cheaper option than either guy. Beyond Sproles and Mathews, there’s not much experience between Wendell Smallwood, Byron Marshall, Terrell Watson, and fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey.
Connor Byrne and Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.