Whether Nick Fairley returns to the Detroit Lions could depend on the team's negotiations with Ndamukong Suh. Both defensive tackles are free agents this offseason, and the Lions have made re-signing Suh "Priority No. 1," Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew said.

While Mayhew said he is "optimistic" the Lions will work out a contract with the four-time Pro Bowler, the general manager said the team hadn't decided if it would pursue Fairley, too.

"I think that I'll meet with his agent down here," Mayhew said during a press conference on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "We'll discuss Nick's situation. There are a lot of guys like that in free agency right now. We're in dialogue about all those guys. It's a matter of setting some priorities and then understanding some tradeoffs that have to happen. When certain things happen, certain other things don't happen and vice versa."

Mayhew said signing Suh wouldn't necessarily prohibit the Lions from signing Fairley.

"A lot of it revolves around Suh," Mayhew said. "I can see a scenario, however, where we have Suh and Nick back. But I can also see a scenario where we have neither one of them."

If the Lions ante up what it likely will take to retain Suh, it's estimated about 40 percent of Detroit's salary cap will be taken up by three players - Suh, wide receiver Calvin Johnson and quarterback Matthew Stafford.

"We had some quality players who are out there who were on our team last year, and we're in the process of trying to keep as many of those guys as we can," Mayhew said. "Priority No. 1 is getting a deal done with (Suh). So that's what we're focused on right now - trying to get something done with him. We'll cross the other bridges with other players when we get to those."

Suh and Fairley were first-round draft picks for the Lions - Suh out of Nebraska with the second selection in 2010 and Fairley out of Auburn with the 13th selection in 2011.

An All-State football and basketball player at Williamson, Fairley was back in Mobile for a court date last week. In Mobile County Circuit Court on Friday, Fairley was found guilty of reckless driving but acquitted of the more serious charge of driving under the influence in a case stemming from a traffic stop in 2012. He was fined $500 for reckless driving.

"I'm ready to go back to Houston to start training, rehabbing and get ready for all these teams to come look at me," Fairley said outside the courtroom after the verdict.

Fairley is rehabbing because he sprained ligaments in his right knee in the eighth game of the 2014 season. Detroit never put Fairley on the injured reserve list, but he never made it back. Fairley participated in a couple of practices before the Lions' playoff game, but Detroit made a game-day decision to keep him off the field against the Dallas Cowboys in what turned out to be the team's final game of the year.

Fairley has said he would prefer to remain with the Lions.

He could have -- at least for the 2015 season -- had Detroit picked up the fifth-year option on his contract. But almost one year ago, the Lions declined their option, which would have paid Fairley $5.5 million in the 2015 season.

Vexed by Fairley's weight issues, Mayhew sought to send a message by declining the contract option. But the weight woes returned during training camp for the 2014 season. After losing his starting position in the preseason, though, Fairley hired a personal chef and slimmed down. But he'd lost weight before, only to gain it back.

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Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin told the Lions' web site last week that he doesn't think that will be a problem with Fairley anymore because while he was idled by his knee injury, Fairley stayed in shape.

"As a player you could say, 'I'm going to play hard, or I'm going to get in shape,' and sometimes when things don't go well, you go right back into your old habits,"

. "He got injured, and he didn't. He kept himself in good shape. He kept his weight down. He worked really hard, and if we were fortunate enough to win at Dallas, he would have been ready to play a little bit in the next game, and so that shows me that he's turned the corner."