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Lions Realize Plenty Of Work Remains But Like Current Core Of Team

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

PHOENIX - The Detroit Lions lost a foundational player in star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who departed for the Miami Dolphins in free agency. As Lions president Tom Lewand sees it, however, the team is still on solid ground.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, offensive lineman Riley Reiff, linebacker DeAndre Levy, defensive ends Ziggy Ansah and Jason Jones, and cornerback Darius Slay are a few of the more recognizable names on the roster. Most are promising young players, while a few are relatively reliable veterans.

Lewand likes this core group, but he knows the team has a long way to go.

"Any idea that this is anywhere near the finish line is misplaced," Lewand said Tuesday in a sit-down with Detroit reporters at the owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. "There's a lot of work left to be done. A lot of work to be done in the draft, a lot of work to be done on veteran free agency, on the waiver wire, on potential trades. There's never a finish line when it comes to building that, but we feel like there is a strong core in place that you can build around, and when you have a strong core, both on the offensive side and the defensive side of the ball, you have the opportunity to add pieces and continue to add pieces and continue to refresh around that core that can enable you to be sustainably successful over a longer period of time.

"It is a never-ending process," Lewand added, "but in order to really feel like you've got the chance to continue to build, you've got to have that core in place, and I think we have that."

Detroit has not made many external moves in free agency; most of their transactions are re-signings of current Lions. Lewand disputed the characterization that the team has been fairly inactive in free agency, pointing out plenty of time remains for the Lions to get other players.

"I feel good about where we are so far," Lewand said. "There's a lot of time left to go with the draft, with other phases of veteran free agency, and where we've shown in the past that we've added some really good players, whether those are through trades or through later signings, and I feel really good about where the coaching staff and the personnel department are in terms of building on what we started to accomplish last year with the 11-5 season."

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