Excited Lions fresh off a very encouraging offseason fans woke up to a potentially ugly story yesterday.

A day after head coach Jim Schwartz didn't seem too concerned about getting No. 2 overall pick DT Ndamukong Suh into camp too far down the road, reports surfeced that Suh and his agents might be asking for more money than … drumroll … No. 1 pick Sam Bradford.

That would be $50 million guaranteed, for those of you scoring at home. Can you say Michael Crabtree-esque holdout?

Remove the tongues from your collective throats, Lions fans.

After those reports surfaced, a different story came along. Agent Eugene Parker told a few media agencies that he in fact was not seeking the reported six-year, $90 million (with $56 million guaranteed) deal that ESPN and a host of other sites were reporting.

But it's what Parker didn't say — and what another source is telling me — that is most interesting. Suh and Parker could be seeking more than the $41.7M that future teammate Matthew Stafford received last year. This I can believe.

And I do. I think Suh's eventual guaranteed figure will land somewhere between what Bradford got and what Stafford got. If we split the difference, that would be in the $45.5M to $46M range. Still big money.

One factor working against Suh is the money that No. 3 pick, Gerald McCoy, got from the Bucs: a five-year deal for $63 million, with $35 million guaranteed. Halfway between that and what Bradford got would be around $42.5 million.

When the talks get really tough, Parker might ask for $46 million and the Lions would counter around $41 million. They'll settle this thing soon, I think, which will not come anywhere close to Crabtreeville. (He signed on Oct. 8 last season, for those who forget.)

Suh pledged not to miss any practice time, and he has missed two sessions as of this writing. He knows he has a great chance to start from Day One, but that he'll have to be at Allen Park soon to ensure doing so.

Expect an accord in the next 4-5 days, perhaps sooner. And take a deep breath, Lions fans.