Lions President Tom Lewand Won't Guarantee PK Jason Hanson's 22nd Year As Kicker

It’s widely assumed that Jason Hanson will return for a 22nd season with the Lions now that he’s decided to put off retirement. And while the Lions have made it clear they want Hanson back on their team and in their locker room, team president Tom Lewand stopped short of guaranteeing that would take place at the NFL owners meetings today. “We’re waiting to hear back from them at this point and see where we are,” Lewand said. “But we’ve had discussions with them ever since Jason indicated that he wanted to play this year and see where that comes out.” Hanson, whose contract expired after the season, told the Lions before the start of free agency last week that he wanted to return for at least one more year. At 42, he’s the oldest player in the NFL and coming off one of his best seasons, when he made 32 of 36 field goals. The Lions don’t have another kicker on their roster and told punter Blake Clingan to work on his kickoffs this off-season but with limited cap space, Lewand said sentimentality won’t play a role in Hanson’s return. “It’s not a system that provides for a lot of allowance for sentimentality,” he said. “We have the utmost respect for Jason and want to have him back, but it’s a situation where everything has to fit. The salary cap is a real restraint for all 32 clubs and we have to operate within that and within our plans. So we’ve had our discussions with Jason and like I said we have the utmost respect for him personally and professionally which is why we want to have him back.” Source: Detroit Free Press