Extra Points: Falcons, Lions, Raiders, Draft

With their contracts soon to expire, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Lions signal-caller Matthew Stafford should each be in line for extensions this offseason. But their respective general managers indicated Wednesday that new deals aren’t imminent.

“I’m saying that eventually, we will address Matt Ryan and his contract,” said the Falcons’ Thomas Dimitroff (via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com). “Right now, our focus is going to be on this year’s class, understanding that Matt is a very important part of our future, as every knows — an extremely important part of our future.”

The Lions’ Bob Quinn took a similar tack, stating (per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com): “We’re kind of taking it one step at a time with the current free-agent class, the current draft class. I mean, these things don’t usually happen in April or May. That’s not a realistic timeline for an extension for a quarterback. But that’s something we do have on the agenda, and we’ll hopefully be able to have some discussions.”

Ryan and Stafford have the same representative, Tom Condon, who figures to help them become two of the league’s highest-paid passers in the coming months. Ryan still has another two years left on the extension he signed in 2013, while Stafford is due to become a free agent after next season.

Elsewhere around the league:

• Like Stafford, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is going into a contract year, though Carr hopes his status changes soon. “I’m a Raider for life,” he told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday (via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com). “I don’t want to play anywhere else. When I got drafted, this is where I wanted to be anyway. I don’t want to go anywhere, ever. They told me they don’t want me to go anywhere, ever. Now it’s about two people who want to be together, and how do we make that happen? We’ll see.” GM Reggie McKenzie made it clear in January that he’s aiming to extend Carr sooner than later.
• Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas is drawing similar buzz to highly touted DE prospects Myles Garrett (Texas A&M) and Jonathan Allen (Alabama) at the combine, tweets Peter Schrager of FOX Sports. All three seem like good bets to end up among the first players to come off the board, with Garrett standing a strong chance to go No. 1 overall. The 6-foot-3, 271-pound Thomas piled up 61 tackles, including 14 for loss, and 8.5 sacks last season.
• Quinn is “disappointed” controversial Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon did not get a combine invite, and the Lions executive isn’t closing the door on drafting him (Twitter link via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News). Mixon is a high-round talent, but his draft stock is in question on account of a disturbing July 2014 physical altercation that led Oklahoma to redshirt him that season. Mixon was caught on video striking a fellow student, Alicia Molitor, who he claims used a racial slur and spit in his face. As a result, Mixon was placed on probation for one year and ordered to release the video.

Zach Links contributed to this post.