The big free agency headlines for the Detroit Lions continue to revolve around DE Cliff Avril, and for good reason -- he was one of the biggest anchors of the defense last season. There's still other work to be done for the Lions in free agency though, and signing tackle Jeff Backus once again looks like it's one of the priorities.
As reported by the Detroit Free Press, the Lions met with Backus' agent, Pat Dye, during the NFL combine and there was productive talk regarding bringing him back for 2012.
“We met at the combine and had a positive discussion,” Dye said. “We’ll probably be reconvening here in the near future and we’ll see where it goes.”
Jeff clearly wants to stay with the Lions, he's never played for another team in his career and would probably like to finish his career there. He had two tough injuries last season after playing over 170 straight games for the Lions at LT, so the end might be in sight for the 34 year old.
"He’d love to be there," Dye said. "That’s the only place he’s been. He wants to see it through. At the same time we’ve got to evaluate all of his options and make the best decision for the balance of his career."
Backus has been playing tackle for the Lions for 11 years now and anchored the offensive line for the team that got the Lions into the playoffs last season for the first time in quite a while. Backus will hit free agency as a UFA if not signed by March 13.
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