Report: Lions, Matthew Stafford talk extension

The Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford have reportedly started contract extension talks. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Detroit Lions want to make sure their franchise quarterback is in a blue and silver uniform for years to come.

The team and Matthew Stafford have reportedly started talks on a contract extension. The talks are said to be in the preliminary stages and both sides are not pressing the issue. Stafford is due a base salary of $12 million next season, although his salary cap number is at $20.3 million.

"Matthew Stafford is our quarterback, and we hope is our quarterback for a long time," Lions president Tom Lewand said, via MLive.com. "The reason to explore a contract extension with Matthew is to fulfill that goal of having him be our quarterback for a long time. It's not a short-term look at the salary cap. That's the wrong way to look at that. When you look at extending somebody like Matthew, he's not going to take less money to extend. That's a very short-term focus to look at."