Before the NFL lockout began, the Detroit Lions tendered a contract offer to quarterback Drew Stanton. They made it clear they want Stanton to return to the team next season, and if he is indeed a restricted free agent under the new rules of the CBA, he will be a Lion. The problem is there's no indication of what the rules will be like in the new CBA. Speculation suggests four-year players could be unrestricted free agents, but there's no telling what the rules will end up being.
For a guy like Stanton, this means he is waiting for the lockout to end to find out what his options even are for next season. If he is an unrestricted free agent, he will be free to sign anywhere. If he's restricted, however, he will essentially be forced to re-sign with the Lions. Whatever happens, he just wants to end up in a situation that is best for him.
"I don’t know, as I’ve said before I want to find the best situation obviously for myself and the organization is going to do what’s best for them,’’ Stanton said. "They offered me a tender and hopefully when this all gets resolved we’ll have a clear picture of what that means. It’s nice to know that they want me here from their side, once this gets resolved maybe they don’t. Time will tell.’’
I don't think Stanton will have to worry about the Lions withdrawing their RFA tender if he is in fact restricted. Even if he's unrestricted I would bet on the Lions doing all they can to re-sign him, because QB depth is important to have, as we found out last year.