Cornerback Amani Oruwariye is entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Lions and the 2019 fifth-round pick hopes that it isn’t his final year with the organization.
Oruwariye moved into a starting job in his second season and he has posted 110 tackles, seven interceptions, and a fumble recovery over the course of those campaigns. That’s made him the team’s most dependable corner and said on Wednesday that he “would love any kind of responsibility” that comes with a contract that anoints him as the No. 1 corner for the Lions.
“Yeah, I love Detroit,” Oruwariye said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I mean, I love being here. I love everything it’s given me. It’s given me a chance to play in the NFL, so ideally that’s where I want to be at. But we’ll see.”
The Lions are short on other extension candidates heading into the 2022 season. Tight end T.J. Hockenson is another one, but he had his fifth-year option exercised and, assuming the Lions want to move forward as well, that makes the matter a little less pressing than it is for Oruwariye.