Every decision for the Lions depends on Ndamukong Suh

There is a high level of ambiguity when it comes to Ndamukong Suh's future -- and the Detroit Lions front office is not the only one waiting to see what happens next.

The unresolved top priority for the Lions will likely influence every move the team makes over the next six weeks. Until the Lions truly know what is going to happen with Suh, the franchise has little choice but to be in a holding pattern, despite the optimism continually expressed by Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand that Suh will be a Lion in 2015.

"Priority No. 1 is getting a deal done with him, so that's what we're focused on right now," Mayhew said. "We're trying to get something done with him. We'll cross the other bridges of other players whenever we get to those.

"Obviously if we're in dialogue with people, we'll know where they are in terms of doing a deal and that timetable could move forward or back with Ndamukong."

This continues to give Suh as much leverage as a player could potentially have when negotiating a contract. It also leaves many of his teammates in free-agent limbo.

Consider this: Last year at this time, Mayhew had a list of players the franchise was not going to bring back. This season, other than center Dominic Raiola, Mayhew left open almost every option Wednesday. He said he is meeting with the agents for defensive tackle Nick Fairley and kicker Matt Prater this week, as well as Suh's agent, Jimmy Sexton.

And in the vein of having many, many options, Mayhew said he could envision a scenario in which both Suh and Fairley return and one where neither does.

This is life with the Lions. They can have conversations and negotiate with the agents of their other free agents, but they really can't make any other medium-to-big moves until they know what will happen with Suh.

Using the franchise tag -- something Mayhew is not committing to or ruling out yet -- would give Detroit something to work with, but it would also cost the franchise $26.9 million for 2015 if a long-term deal is not completed. That doesn't include the $9.7 million Suh will count against the 2015 salary cap no matter what happens.

If the Lions and Suh continue to only pursue a long-term deal, there's no guarantee one gets done by the start of free agency, when Suh can then sign with any team in the league. This could hurt the Lions when it comes to making other free-agent moves and also deciding on contract restructures and possible cap casualty cuts.

So Detroit likely has to make contingency plans based on many factors. Mayhew said Wednesday there continues to be no timetable for Suh to sign a new deal with the Lions and once again committed to making a "serious financial commitment" to the All-Pro.

But he did acknowledge the importance for the Lions to make sure something is done with Suh before it gets too deep into free agency. If they can't, that could be Detroit's worst-case scenario. If Suh's contract goes too far into the free-agency period and the Lions then lose him, a lot of other top-flight free agents might end up off the market.

The good news for Detroit is that no matter what, this will be over soon and the franchise can start planning for their future. The bad news? Despite the optimism from the Lions and their belief Suh will return, there is no guarantee of how any of this will end.

Until then -- everybody continues to wait.