ORLANDO, Fla. -- Nick Fairley wasn't meeting the Detroit Lions' expectations on the field. He wasn't responding to their pleas to get into better shape away from it.

So the Lions made a move they knew would get the defensive tackle's attention, and declined his option for 2015.

Suddenly, the former first-rounder is entering a contract year for the first time in his career. And the Lions hope money is the motivation Fairley needs to finally live up to his potential.

But here's a question: What if he does?

What if Fairley sheds some weight and starts nuking quarterbacks weekly, as he's already done occasionally? What if he finally forms the dominant 1-2 punch with Ndamukong Suh that Detroit envisioned all along?

What if Fairley has a Pro Bowl season?

Should the Lions reward him with a lucrative deal, knowing what happened the last time Fairley wasn't in a contract year?

Barring exceptional circumstances, the answer to that question should be no.

The Lions rightfully didn't say that when asked about Fairley's future this week. But they also didn't guarantee they would push to re-sign him, as they have with Suh, and that is telling in its own way.

"I think everything's evaluated," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "Everything is looked at and evaluated, in terms of when you make decisions, and particularly long-term decisions. So you have to take it all in consideration, look at it and see what you think is best. See what you think's best for the organization, make your decision from there."

The concern with Fairley is if money is what motivates him, what happens once he's got it?

It's OK to be driven by money. We all are, and athletes are no different. There's nothing wrong with that.

Suh is a good example. He's made more money in his first four years than any player in NFL history, and now is seeking the richest deal among defensive tackles in his latest contract negotiations.

And that's OK. As one of the game's most disruptive and dominant defensive players, he's earned the right to fight for such a contract. He's always on the field -- he played 85.2 percent of Detroit's snaps last season -- and is a terror despite all those double teams.

But Suh's motor isn't magic, nor is it even genetic. It's his preparation, which is the stuff of legends.

Fairley, conversely, has not responded to Detroit's repeated attempts to get him in the offseason program. His weight has become a problem -- he was listed at 291 pounds last year, but played at probably 320-plus -- and even his attitude toward the basic stuff, like stretching, is suspect.

He was more likely to be dancing than stretching with his teammates before games or practices last year, and that is not a joke.

Suh has demonstrated he wants to be the best, and is willing to do anything to push himself to that point, which makes him a safe long-term investment. Fairley might want to be the best too, but his actions have not shown a willingness to put in the work if he does.

And that makes him a risky long-term investment.

I'm not trying to predict the future here. Fairley could turn out to be great for years to come for all I know. But what I'm saying is he hasn't given us reason to believe that will be the case.

Lions president Tom Lewand is reserving judgment for after the season, and said he'll need to see character development before he'll dole out a new deal to Fairley.



"I think you see a lot of things evolve over the course of a player's career -- any player's career -- and every season is an important one in the evolution of a player's career," he said. "Every offseason, every training camp, every regular-season performance, and we've seen guys mature at different times and in different ways. I think that the course of the 2014 offseason, training camp and regular season will provide a lot of valuable information about Nick Fairley's value as a player."

But can Detroit get enough information from just one season to trust Fairley with all that money?

"I think it will provide a lot of valuable information, and what that information is, and how we evaluate it, is to be determined," Lewand said. "But to go beyond that would be to speculate. We just don't know yet. That ball is firmly in his court."

Fairley knows that, too. He will be on his best behavior, now that there's a whole lot of money on the line, not to mention he's coached by a guy who likely won't tolerate his practice habits the way Jim Schwartz did.

The Lions hope they'll get a better Nick Fairley in 2014. And if their other moves and public statements are any indication, that's all they care about anyway. They aren't thinking about 2015.

But when they do think about it, they should consider Fairley's future with great circumspection. Even if he flourishes this season, as Detroit hopes he will, there's no way he should be rewarded for it with a long-term deal.

Those kinds of contracts are all about managing risk, and Fairley isn't worth it.