Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- He used qualifiers like “as of today” and “right now,” but Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Wednesday that linebacker DeAndre Levy remains in the team’s plans for 2017.

“DeAndre had a challenging year through the injuries, so it’s something that he worked extremely hard, behind the scenes, to kind of get back,” Quinn said. “It was just a couple of things that kept him out of the lineup. So, as of today, I feel like he’ll be back next year, and we’ll talk about the contract if it ever comes up. But right now, we have nothing to report.”

Levy has battled through two difficult, injury-riddled seasons, playing in just seven of the Lions’ last 33 games.

He missed all but 17 snaps of the 2015 season with a hip injury that required surgery and sat out 11 games in the middle of last season after tearing the meniscus in his knee.

Both Quinn and Lions linebackers coach Bill Sheridan have expressed confidence that Levy can return to his Pro Bowl-caliber form with good health. But the soon-to-be-30-year-old linebacker has the sixth-highest salary cap figure on the team ($8.226 million), prompting some to wonder whether the Lions might approach him about reworking his deal.

For now, Levy, who led the Lions with 270 tackles and seven interceptions in the 2013-14 seasons, is dealing from a position of strength when it comes to his future. Though $1.75 million of Levy’s $5.75-million base salary becomes fully guaranteed next weekend, the Lions are incredibly thin at linebacker. Tahir Whitehead, Antwione Williams and Thurston Armbrister are the only other experienced linebackers on the roster.

The Lions are expected to pursue linebacker help in free agency, and it’s possible that a big signing could impact Levy’s future.

Asked directly whether Levy’s contract is at all an issue for the team, Quinn said, “No, not right now.”

“We’ll get into free agency and kind of see where it leads us,” he said.

Detroit Lions to take a shot at 'top-end' free agents

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!