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Ezekiel Ansah is headed to the Seattle Seahawks, and that means one of the most crucial players on the Detroit Lions defense over the past few five years will be playing for another NFL team for the first time in his career.
It seems like most Lions fans had come to terms with Ansah’s departure. His lack of availability frustrated the fanbase almost as much as it seemed to frustrate Ansah himself.
Now that we know many—but not all—of Ansah’s contract terms with the Seahawks, it’s time to evaluate whether the Lions should have given Ansah one more chance in Detroit to see if he could turn his luck around.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Given his contract terms in Seattle, should the Lions have re-signed Ansah?
My answer: Here’s what we know about Ansah’s deal so far.
According to ESPN, Ansah is receiving $5.5 million guaranteed with around $8 million extra to earn in incentives. Ian Rapoport notes that Ansah’s base salary is $9 million.
That’s obviously a significant discount compared to last year, when Ansah played on the franchise tag worth $17.1 million. But even $5.5 million guaranteed is a calculated risk, especially when Adam Schefter is reporting that Ansah could potentially miss the first month of the regular season... or more:
New Seahawks’ DE Ziggy Ansah still is recovering from shoulder surgery that is expected to keep him out of training camp or longer; some league sources believe Ansah could miss the first month of this season, at least.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 9, 2019
In the end, I am completely fine with the Lions moving on from Ansah. While he’s a great story, a great player and seemingly a great guy, there’s just too much risk involved in counting on him to play for the team. I feel much better about the defensive end position the way the Lions have addressed it this offseason.
Your turn.