ALLEN PARK — Lions have agreed to a five year deal with cornerback Chris Houston.

 The contract is worth $25 million per Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports with $15.5 million over the first three years.

 Houston will enter his fourth season with the Lions and was considered a priority among the 23 unrestricted free agents on the Lions’ roster.

 Houston started 42 games over his three seasons in Detroit.

 He was considered one of the top 20 free agents on the market.

He missed the first two games of the 2012 season and then was a steadying influence in the defensive backfield which was decimated by injury.

“You know, he’s a couple of words – accountable, available, reliable,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said late last season. “He’s all of those. I told Chris Greenwood this morning, I said, ‘Watching Chris Houston drives me crazy because he looks laid back and relaxed.’ You don’t think he has that competitive edge to him, but yet that’s what he is. He’s a competitor and he shows up ...’’

 The Lions acquired Houston in a trade with Atlanta in the spring of 2010.