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Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn Kevin Johnson Jersey , who have led the team to the playoffs the last two seasons, have signed three-year contract extensions.

The deals were announced Wednesday, a day before players report for training camp. Financial terms were not disclosed for the contracts, which will run through the 2022 season.

The new deals for Dimitroff and Quinn will leave the focus for the start of training camp on wide receiver Julio Jones, who is entering the third year of his five-year, $71.5 million contract. Jones has asked to have his deal renegotiated, but the team has said it won't offer Jones a more lucrative deal this year.

Jones is not expected to report on Thursday for Friday's opening day of camp. He would be Atlanta's first training camp holdout since 2009, when receiver Roddy White's weeklong absence ended with a new $50 million deal.

Dimitroff, hired in 2008 Mario Addison Jersey , is entering his 11th season. Quinn is 32-21 in his first three seasons.

Owner Arthur Blank said the leadership team of Dimitroff and Quinn "has proven to be as successful as we envisioned back in 2015."

"I believe continuity in leadership is vital to achieving the highest levels of success in any organization and, with these extensions, we ensure these two leaders will be at the helm of our franchise for years to come," Blank said in a statement released by the team. "Their shared vision and long view plan has already delivered on a variety of levels and has positioned our team for success into the future."

The Falcons lost to New England in the Super Bowl following the 2016 regular season before losing to Philadelphia in the divisional round last season.

Dimitroff faces a new challenge with Jones after already reaching an agreement this offseason with quarterback Matt Ryan on a five-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $150 million.

With Ryan and Jones, the Falcons are expected to contend for a third straight playoff appearance.

"I am appreciative of the support and confidence that Arthur continues to show us as we strive to bring a championship to this city and our fans," Dimitroff said in the statement. "I am excited about where our team is currently as well as the outlook we have for the foreseeable future."

Jones, 29, caught 88 passes last season for 1,444 yards and three touchdowns. He earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection.

A holdout by Jones could threaten the team-first atmosphere stressed by Quinn as a key to his shared leadership with Dimitroff.

"The partnership we have formed over the last four years has continued to get stronger and our view for how we structure this team has become even more clear Kurt Warner Jersey ," Quinn said. "We are looking forward to the challenge in front of us, but I could not be more excited about continuing this journey with Thomas and the brotherhood."
Matthew Stafford has a lot of numbers on his side, supporting the case the Detroit Lions drafted the right guy No. 1 overall in 2009 and were wise to give him a $135 million, five-year extension last summer.

The strong-armed quarterback has completed 62 percent of his passes over his career for nearly 35,000 yards with 216 touchdowns. After injuries stunted the start of his career, he has started every game for seven straight seasons.

But he hasn’t been able to change Detroit’s number of postseason victories since the franchise won the 1957 NFL title.

Stafford has helped the Lions reach the playoffs three times, losing a wild-card game each time to leave them stuck on one postseason victory in six-plus decades.

He knows that fact as well as anyone in the Motor City and yet he insisted that doesn’t get him down.

”There’s that mindset to go out there and work to prove people wrong and all that kind of stuff,” Stafford said Thursday after reporting for training camp. ”I just want to prove myself right.”

Stafford will begin his 10th training camp on Friday morning, aiming to help Detroit avoid having just another mediocre season in Matt Patricia’s debut as an NFL head coach.

The Lions won nine games the previous two years and coach Jim Caldwell lost his job after the team didn’t return to the playoffs last season.

Stafford seems set up for success on offense Michael Roberts Jersey , working with a familiar offensive coordinator, Jim Bob Cooter, and throwing to returning veteran receivers Golden Tate and Marvin Jones.

More importantly, the team has invested in improving the running game through free agency and the draft by bolstering the offensive line and backfield.

The Lions have been among the NFL’s worst rushing teams in recent years, allowing opponents to sack Stafford an average of 43 times over the past four seasons.

Despite the slew of sacks and even more hits, some of which have led to injuries, Stafford has been able to stay on the field.

”When I came into this league, I was 21 years old and I felt pretty good most days,” Stafford said. ”I’m 30 now. I don’t feel bad Pat McAfee Jersey , but it’s different. A little bit of a new normal.

”I feel as good as I’ve felt coming into a camp in a long time. I feel really healthy and ready to go.”

Stafford could potentially be entering the prime of his career.

”Quarterbacks in this league really develop pretty well at this sort of age range,” Cooter said. ”He’s getting better at different things. Every year we have different sort of points of emphasis. It could be throwing a certain pass, it could be pocket movement or it could be something with his feet.

”It’s a big camp for him too, right? There are a lot of different things around here. This is not the exact same system or exact same camp as last year’s camp.”

Stafford has become savvy with the media over the years, answering questions without saying anything controversial.

He doesn’t make bold predictions and rarely goes out on a limb on any topic.

The husband and father of two young girls seems to strike a life-work balance, but his competitive streak can be heard at times when he hears doubters.

”Nobody’s got higher expectations than we do in our locker room,” Stafford said. ”We hold each other accountable to being a really good football team and doing things the right way all the time. All that outside stuff doesn’t get to us. We really don’t talk about it. Don’t hear it.”

NOTES: The Lions signed DT Ricky Jean Francois and LB Darnell Sankey. They released LB Al-Rasheed Benton and OL Beau Nunn. … Detroit put LB Devon Kennard and DE Cornelius Washington on active-non football injury list.

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