Detroit Lions defense end Ezekiel Ansah recently had his fifth-year optioned picked up by the team which will play out $12.7 million in 2017 according to ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein. This is obviously good news for the Organization and it’s fans considering Ansah for the most part became the face of the defense since the departure of Ndamukong Suh last offseason.
What could make the Lions a little uneasy though is Ansah currently has two years left on his rookie deal and appeared noncommittal (at least right now) when came to a long-term deal with the team.
Here’s what Ansah told reporters per Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press:
“As of right now, I think you’ve got to take it step by step,” he said. “You’ve got to see how this season goes, and I’m just looking forward as far as having a great season for the team.”
Obviously when fans hear this they’re automatically going to think about when Suh hightailed it out-of-town when his contract with the Lions was up.
There are however some glaring differences between Ansah and Suh, especially when it comes to their contracts and impending free agency.
First I’ll preface that I totally agreed with Martin Mayhew in not offering Suh everything and ultimately let him walk. The Lions had no business paying a defensive tackle the money he eventually signed for with the Dolphins.
However when it comes to a defensive end the Lions would be a little more justified in offering more money to Ansah.
Good pass rushing defensive ends come at a premium now in the NFL and Ansah knows that. Not to mention the former BYU standout was one of the best in the League last season picking up 14.5 sacks total. So not signing a contract extension now with the Lions is certainly understandable on Ansah’s end because he very well may get better which would increase his price tag.
Then again he could regress and have his value go down OR he may just not want to be in Detroit anymore which in that case there’s really nothing the Lions can do.
Either way this perfectly sums up the business aspect of professional sports.