DANA POINT, Calif. — Despite the fact the Detroit Lions have made it public that they are seeking to negotiate a contract with the yet-to-be-unidentified player they would make the No. 1 overall pick of next month’s draft, general manager Martin Mayhew told me today that he is open to trading the choice if he could land the right difference-maker from another team.

When asked specifically about Jay Cutler and if Mayhew would consider trading the top pick for the unhappy Broncos quarterback, he didn’t shoot down the idea.

“We’re open to all options with that pick,” Mayhew said during a break at the NFL Annual Meeting. “Obviously, it has value to us, and if it has value to somebody else, then we can talk about that.”

On Sunday, Lions president Tom Lewand told Tom Kowalski of Booth Newspapers in Lansing, Mich., that the team was looking forward to discussions with “agents of players we’re interested in.” Speculation elsewhere has identified the Lions’ leading candidate as Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith.

But the team also figures to be very much in the market for a quarterback. If the Lions don’t select one in the draft, they would need to find one somewhere else. For the record, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels insists the team wants to hang onto Cutler.

– Vic Carucci

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