21831992-standard.jpg

Lions tight end Eric Ebron has one year left on his rookie deal, although the club holds an option on 2018 too.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Eric Ebron was a top 10 pass-catching tight end in 2016, but the Detroit Lions have made no decisions on whether that was enough for them to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

Ebron has one guaranteed year left on his deal, with Detroit holding an option currently valued at about $8.5 million for 2018.



"I mean that doesn't have to come until I think May 2 is the day," general manager Bob Quinn said Thursday. "So on my radar, but way down."



Ebron was a fixture in the Lions' offense this season, catching 61 passes for 711 yards, both of which were third on the team even though he missed three games because of injury. They were also career highs for the former 10th overall pick.



But he also got off to a slow start because of an ankle injury that cost him almost all of training camp, then missed three games because of ankle and knee injuries. He also dropped a team-high seven passes, and another two in the playoff loss against Seattle.

Billed as a red-zone threat, he caught only one touchdown pass (though did run in another).



Still, given what pass-catching tight ends make on the open market these days, and Ebron's growing importance to the Jim Bob Cooter offense, the odds are good that Detroit will eventually pick up the option. But Quinn is going to use the time allotted him to mull his roster before making a final call.

He handled Ezekiel Ansah the same way last year, even though it was always a slam dunk that Detroit would pick up the star defensive end's option.



"Eric had a productive year," Quinn said. "He battled through the preseason injury that he had, I think it was at the mock game at Ford Field. Then he had a couple other things that he worked through. I think Eric was probably his healthiest the last month of the season, and that's the kind of player that Eric can be if he can be out there."



Ebron's best month was his last, when he caught a career-high eight passes for 93 yards in the Week 16 loss against Dallas, then a team-high six passes for 61 yards in the finale against Green Bay.