Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Detroit Lions are looking for a trading partner for Stephen Tulloch, but if they can't find a new home for the veteran linebacker, they're still expected to release him this spring.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn declined to shed more light on Tulloch's future and why he remains on the roster during a 14-minute interview with beat writers at the NFL's annual spring meetings today, other than to say, "It's a contractual issue."

But a person familiar with the Lions' thinking said Tulloch is not currently in the team's plans for the fall.

Tulloch, 31, led the Lions with 107 tackles last year but was relegated to rotational duty because of his troubles in pass coverage.

The Lions informed Tulloch last month that they planned to release him sometime after the new league year began March 9, and Tulloch wrote a good-bye message on his Instagram account, thanking the team and its fans for "some of the greatest memories of my career."

But rather than cut Tulloch at the start of free agency, the Lions chose to keep him on their roster and pay him the $500,000 bonus he was due March 13.

"We did (pay his bonus)," Quinn told reporters today. "His bonus was guaranteed, so there was no option."

Tulloch's bonus was guaranteed for skill and injury but not salary cap purposes. He tore his ACL early in the 2014 season but played in all 16 games last year and is scheduled to make $5.5 million this fall, a sum not commensurate with his current contributions on the field.

Asked whether the decision to retain Tulloch for now was injury-related, Quinn declined to answer.

"I don’t want to go into any specifics about why or how he’s still on the roster," Quinn said. "It’s something that I’ve agreed with his representative and him to kind of just keep between myself and them. We’re not releasing any more information about it."

Quinn also sidestepped a question about whether Tulloch is interested in returning to the Lions, but he said Tahir Whitehead is expected to play middle linebacker this fall.

"I’ve talked to Stephen briefly about this whole situation," Quinn said. "And it’s really, like I said at the beginning, it’s a contractual issue. There’s a lot of things that go into the roster decisions and why a guy’s on the team or not on the team at certain times of the year. So myself and Matt Harriss and his representative are definitely working through that. So I really have nothing to add."

The Lions met with Tulloch's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, at the league meetings Monday to discuss both Tulloch's future and a possible contract extension for Darius Slay.

Tulloch started 67 games during his five seasons with the Lions, missing only the final 13 games of 2014 with a knee injury. He topped 100 tackles in every season he finished on the active roster.

Whitehead, who turns 26 next month, played well at middle linebacker in Tulloch's absence in 2014, then shifted to outside linebacker last year.

Quinn reiterated that he expects weakside linebacker DeAndre Levy to return this fall, though he said it's not yet clear whether Levy will be healthy enough to take part in off-season workouts.

Kyle Van Noy and Josh Bynes are the only other experienced linebackers on the Lions' roster.

"We’re still in conversations with Stephen and his representative," Quinn said. "There’s just some contractual issues that we’re trying to work out. I really have nothing to add. As of today, Stephen is on the roster."

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

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