Justin Rogers of the Detroit News reports that Lions franchise DE Ziggy Ansah will not be in attendance for the start of voluntary offseason workouts on Monday, as he’s still in Ghana for a family obligation.
Ansah has, however, kept the team and new HC Matt Patricia in the loop regarding his situation and Rogers says he’s expected to be back working with the Lions at some point in the near future.
The Lions used the franchise tag on Ansah a few months ago, which will cost them around $17.5 million fully guaranteed for the 2018 season, but won’t prevent them from working a long-term extension before the July deadline.
It will be interesting to see if extension talks pick up between the Lions and Ansah in the coming months or if Detroit lets him play out the season under the tag and then walk as a free agent in 2019.
Ansah, 28, was taken with the No. 5 overall pick by the Lions back in 2013. He played out the final year of his four-year, $18.595 million rookie contract before the Lions picked up his fifth-year option last May.
Ansah made a base salary $12.7 million for the 2017 season and was in line to be an unrestricted free agent in the coming weeks.
In 2017, Ansah appeared in 14 games for the Lions and recorded 44 tackles, 12 sacks, a forced fumble, and a recovery. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 40 edge rusher out of 106 qualifying players.
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