After watching Ndamukong Suh defect to Miami, the Lions are working to ensure that another defensive star stays in Detroit.
General manager Martin Mayhew revealed Friday, via the Detroit Free Press, that the team's brass has opened contract talks with walk-year linebacker DeAndre Levy.
"We've had some dialogue with him," Mayhew said, "and I think it's ongoing at this point."
Robbed of a Pro Bowl nod in each of the past two seasons, Levy is an under-appreciated cog on a defense who ranked third in scoring and fourth in yards last year. We ranked the 28-year-old as one of the NFL's 10 most valuable defensive players in 2014.
Beyond Levy, Mayhew updated the contract status of newly acquired defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and free-agent guard Rob Sims.
The Lions want to extend Ngata's contract, but Mayhew doesn't expect to jumpstart those negotiations until after next week's draft.
Mayhew has a standing offer out to Sims, but there have been no talks in the past three weeks. Sims has been Detroit's starting left guard for the past five years.
Whether or not Sims is brought back, the Lionsexpect to have improved offensive line play in 2015.
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