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.”

Stafford threw for 4,967 yards with 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for the 4-12 Lions last season.

Henry Melton called center Dominic Raiola the Lions’ biggest trash talker. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton accused Lions offensive players of playing “dirty,” via the Chicago Tribune prior to the teams’ game Sunday at Ford Field.

“Dirty. They’re dirty,” Melton said of the Lions. “They’ve always been a dirty team since I’ve been here. I don’t like them. They’re going to be looking for cheap shots and all that mess, just have to hold our composure and play the game we know.”

Melton said the Lions’ dirty play is evident on game video. The Bears took exception to an Ndamukong Suh hit on quarterback Jay Cutler during their previous meeting at Soldier Field this season.

“They just try to do all this extra stuff, talking little cheap shots,” Melton said. “If you look at the tape, they’ve always thrown cheap shots, we had a brawl last year. It is what it is, I’m ready.”

Melton called center Dominic Raiola the Lions’ biggest trash talker, accusing the veteran of swearing and taking cheap shots.

“He’s old and he just talks. He’s more just cuss words, bad language,” Melton said. “Then he’ll throw some cheap shots in there and then he’ll say some bad words.”

Bears safety Major Wright gave the Lions more bulletin board material when he accused Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford of folding under pressure.

“You’ve got Matthew Stafford; he’s definitely having an OK season,” Wright said. “He can make any throw on that field, so you have to be aware of putting pressure on him because you put a little pressure on him, he kind of folds.”

The Bears must win Sunday — and have the Packers beat the Vikings — to secure the NFC’s sixth and final wild-card berth.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was visiting ESPN today to film commercial for Sports Center, when he reportedly decided to throw some deep routes to ESPN employees…from the television network’s roof.

Stafford, who actually led the NFL in pass attempts this season, held nothing back despite the cold weather in Bristol, CT.

The 23-year-old threw for 5038 yards and 41 touchdowns this season for the Detroit Lions.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was able to practice after suffering an injury to his right ankle in last weekend’s 23-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, according to reports from ESPN.

An MRI came back clean, indicating Stafford’s ankle injury was not more severe than a sprain. The team is considering Stafford day-to-day. Backup quarterback Shaun Hill spent some time with the first team, taking snaps under center as well before Stafford took the field.

Stafford was able to participate in throwing drills and to jog in short stretches. Reports say that Stafford’s “footwork looked fine.” He may be available to start against the new Tebow-era Broncos on Oct. 30.

Much of the Lions’ recent success is credited to Stafford, who helped lead his team reel off five straight victories to start the season. Stafford has thrown for 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions and nearly 2,000 yards in his seven starts this season. The Georgia product has a 95.5 passer rating.