ALLEN PARK -- Joique Bell got a few phone calls from teammates Tuesday after word leaked that he had signed a three-year, $9.3 million deal with the Detroit Lions.

Steven Miller phoned him first. Then Reggie Bush. And then Ndamukong Suh, who like Bell has a pressing contract situation this offseason.

But while Bell and the Lions were able to work something out with the restricted free agent in the past two weeks, it appears Suh's negotiations have yet to begin.

"I talked to Suh, and he said, actually, they really haven't been negotiating now," Bell said Wednesday during a news conference at the Lions' practice facility in suburban Detroit. "He said his focus is just coming in next season.

"Like I said, it's easy for us just to be the players. That's why we hire our agents -- to worry about that type of stuff."

The Lions have said they would like to work out an extension with Suh, which would reduce his monstrous $22.4 million cap hit for next season. General manager Martin Mayhew said at the combine in January he hoped to have something in place around the start of free agency.

But Suh fired his agent, and took more than a month to hire CAA's Jimmy Sexton to handle his contract negotiations. The NFLPA still shows no records of the relationship, which means it's possible that the official paperwork has yet to be filed.

All this has delayed Detroit's efforts to work out an extension, and it appears little or no work has been done 24 hours into free agency. That leaves the Lions with a little more than $8 million to work with, after signing Bell and Kevin Ogletree (one year) to deals this week.

The Lions have yet to make a slash in free agency, but reportedly are hosting receiver Golden Tate, center Phil Costa and fullback Henry Hynoski this week.

Suh has two seasons remaining on his rookie deal with Detroit, but 2015 is a voidable year. The defensive tackle is expected to opt out of the deal if an extension is not reached this offseason.

He carries $9.7 million in dead money if he does not play for the Lions next year.