Lions DE Ansah to sign $17.1M tender

Defensive end Ziggy Ansah is returning from a humanitarian trip to Ghana to sign his one-year, $17.143 million franchise tender with the Detroit Lions and begin offseason workouts.

First-year head coach Matt Patricia's debut offseason with the Lions is underway in Allen Park, Mich., and Ansah is expected to be present for the majority of the sessions.

"We talked to Ziggy (before the NFL combine), had a good conversation with Ziggy about what the future entails," Lions general manager Bob Quinn said in March. "All of those conversations between me and the player is going to be private. We're not going to get into talking about it with you guys. But we did talk to him, told him what our plan was and he understands where we're coming from. We understand where he's coming from and we're looking forward to having him on the team."

Patricia, hired to replace Jim Caldwell as head coach, was unable to meet with players and discuss the installation of new defensive schemes. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter is a holdover from Caldwell's staff and the Lions are not expected to make radical adjustments to the existing system.

Ansah, who dealt with back and knee issues last season, closed the season with 12.0 sacks including nine in the final three games. He underwent a scope on his knee but is not expected to be limited physically when training camp begins.

--Field Level Media