The Detroit Lions are adding some serious experience to their practice squad, signing a 10-year veteran wide receiver to provide some much-needed depth.
The team announced on August 28 that they signed receiver Allen Robinson to their practice squad, the second veteran signing behind a short wide receiving corps on the active roster. Robinson is coming off a season where he started all 17 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers, making 34 catches for 280 yards.
Lions Went Light at Wide Receiver
The Lions chose to keep just four wide receivers on their active roster this season — Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Isaiah Williams. But the team went to work quickly adding veteran depth on the practice squad, signing Robinson and former Denver Broncos receiver Tim Patrick.
As Nick Shook of NFL.com noted, Robinson has plenty of experience around the NFL.
“Robinson is no stranger to the NFC North, as he spent four seasons with the Chicago Bears,” Shook wrote. “Having started his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before moving on to Chicago, Robinson has become a journeyman following the 2021 season with the Bears. He played subsequent years with the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers before signing on with the Giants this spring.”
Robinson came into the NFL as a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, making the Pro Bowl in his second season while making 80 receptions for 1,400 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Shook wrote that Patrick could also provide a veteran option for the Lions, which is especially important after the departure of No. 2 receiver Josh Reynolds in free agency. The Lions also released veteran Donovan Peoples-Jones, who joined the team at the trade deadline last season and had started one game.
Shook noted that none of the other pass-catchers the Lions brought in made much of an impression through training camp and the preseason, writing that “few (if any) of the receivers outside of the Lions’ top three made significant strides to earn an established role as the fourth option.”
Dan Campbell Addresses Receiving Corps
The Lions will enter the season with a short wide receiving corps, both figuratively and literally. The four receivers on the 53-man roster are all on the slight side, with Williams the tallest at 6-foot-1. St. Brown is listed at 6-foot, while Williams and Raymond are 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-8 respectively.
One day ahead of the final roster cutdowns on August 27, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said “it would be nice to have size” but acknowledged that the receivers had other strengths.
Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network asked Campbell if having a smaller receiver group limited what the Lions could do on offense, but the head coach didn’t seem too worried.
“No, I don’t believe that,” Campbell said. “We will always be able to, with what we’ve got on this roster, (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson) does a hell of a job of making sure that we put guys in position to have success and let our guys go win and whatever it takes to allow them to do that.
