Lions News

[Larsky]

I got it.

Cut Blough and Boyle, and make Tom Kennedy the back-up QB. He has a career QB rating of 158.3.

[chemiclord]

I thought Chase Daniel was just as bad as these guys. When they had Hill and Stanton, it was the only time since the mid 90s that they had any decent backups.

I personally do not get what they see in either Boyle or Blough, but I am much more pessimistic than most people in here about how many good NFL quarterbacks there are.

Like I said in a previous post, they looked better the first two weeks but hot garbage today. If they play weaker competition in the NFL with the full assortment, they can eek out some wins.

Oh, I don't think anyone is optimistic about how many "good" NFL QBs there are, but I think you are WAY too optimistic about how passable Boyle and Blough are. Up until VERY late in the 4th, neither guy was averaging more than 5 yards per completion. I'm not kidding when I'd say that with the way they've performed, they'd struggle to make a USFL team. It's less that anyone else available is "good," but that Blough and Boyle have been that bad.

[TheLondonLion]

Totally agree. They are terrible. Not good enough, even to hold clipboards.

[Cody_Russell]

OR bring JT Barrett out of retirement. It’s possible he is on the same quality tier as the other backup QBs.

Very, very simple:
- Cut Blough and Boyle.
- Nobody in the NFL will have interest to acquire them.
- Lions save a fringe roster player (Stenberg? CJ Moore? etc) of much higher quality.
- Lions re-sign Blough or Boyle after placing the injured players on IR. It’s IR, not PUP. Correcting myself from earlier.
- Lions could actually go after a different backup QB if they want. Not a huge deal.

No brainer gameplan.

Any chance Ehlinger gets cut?

It sounds like the Colts are keeping him.

[jaadam4]

Jarrad Davis and Tom Kennedy were released. I was really wanting Davis to turn his shit around

[edindetroit]

Jarrad Davis and Tom Kennedy were released. I was really wanting Davis to turn his shit around

Tom Kennedy, a preseason darling for the second straight season, is out in Detroit according to NFL Network.


The move isn’t much of a surprise, although Kennedy did play himself onto the periphery of the bubble by leading the Lions in receiving during the preseason. He did the same thing last year too, endearing himself to head coach Dan Campbell with a try-hard, can-do, never-quit attitude. Everything the Lions asked Kennedy to do, he did. And that was enough for him to make the roster as a rare seventh receiver.


But the Lions have loaded up at the position over the last year, acquiring Josh Reynolds via waivers last season, then signing DJ Chark in free agency and trading up for Jameson Williams in the first round of the draft. No position group improved more than that one over the last year. Throw in the emergence of Amon-Ra St. Brown and the re-signing of Kalif Raymond, and the competition for roster jobs has been fierce.


Quintez Cephus, the Lions’ No. 1 receiver when he broke his collarbone last season, opened training camp squarely on the roster bubble. Trinity Benson, a speedy wideout who contributes on an array of special teams, is in that fight for one or maybe two jobs too. Which left Kennedy, who does almost nothing on special teams, on the wrong side of a tough fight.

But fight he did. Kennedy practiced well with the second- and third-team offenses throughout camp, then racked up a league-high 103 receiving yards in the preseason opener before adding two touchdown catches in Indianapolis. And just like that, the final man on the bench last year had somehow played his way back onto the bubble this year, despite all those upgrades ahead of him

“We’re trying to give him every opportunity to make this team,” Campbell said. “Because he just won’t go away, and that’s a good thing.”

But Campbell was also honest about how tough Kennedy’s road to the 53 would be. The wideout was productive throughout the preseason, but was also buried behind St. Brown and Raymond in the slot. He did improve on the outside this summer, but would rarely play there ahead of Chark and Raymond on Sundays, and eventually Williams too.

Kennedy’s primary contributions, like most end-of-the-roster receivers, would be on special teams. The Lions did give Kennedy a shot to expand his portfolio there in the preseason, but just wasn’t able to prove enough to win a job in that vastly improved receiver unit.

Cutting Kennedy was tough for Detroit, because he embodies the grit and toughness this coaching staff is seeking across the roster. On the other hand, cutting guys like that -- because the talent is simply so much better ahead of him -- is itself a sign of progress.

“Our talent level is better, and the competition is better, and I’ll just say it again, the better the competition, the better the players rise to that occasion,” Campbell said during a break from deliberations with general manager Brad Holmes on Monday. “We’re ultimately going to have to let go of some players that were here all last year that we depended on, did everything we asked them to do and produced for us last year, but that’s a sign of progress too.”

Campbell made those comments generally, and was not referring specifically to Kennedy. Then again, Kennedy certainly fits into that bucket too. When this team was worse, guys like him could make the roster. But as the team improves, the talent should rise, and so should the talent of the cuts.

Kennedy will now be exposed to the waiver wire. He could be claimed by a team seeking another slot receiver, but he seems more likely to make it through that process, at which point he could re-sign with the practice squad -- where he surely would be welcomed back as a guy who knows this offense and could challenge the defense -- or seek a fresh start with a new team.

With that, the lingering question at receiver is whether Cephus and Benson have both made it in a six-man rotation, or perhaps one more cut is looming. The Lions could make five receivers work because St. Brown and Raymond can both play all the receiver spots. That would free up an extra roster spot at another position.


https://www.mlive.com/lions/2022/08/...arly-cuts.html

[edindetroit]

Lions release Boyle

https://www.detroitlionsforum.com/forums/forum/sports-discussion-forums/detroit-lions/1794921-preseason-games?p=1797287#post1797287

[kreton]

Suprised by Kennedy. I honestly thought he earned a spot over Cephus. I hadn't thought about ST though. Hope the kid finds success.

[Cody_Russell]

Boyle can now retire a rich man that took on barely any hits in the NFL. Good for him. Lucky to get a NFL job with that college production.

Jarrad Davis and Tom Kennedy were released. I was really wanting Davis to turn his shit around

Bring them back to the practice squad!
Assuming Kennedy isn’t claimed through waivers. Maybe there’s a small chance Kennedy is claimed by a team that is total crap at WR. Bears…

[Futureshock]

Everyone loves the smell of their own crap.

Look at the WRs available. TK isn't on anyone's top list. Well, maybe NE (Patricia)

[Futureshock]

When he had to go against better defenders (PIT) they covered him like a blanket and pretty much shut him down. If he is swooped, no big deal really.

[jaadam4]

Kennedy isn’t getting claimed anywhere. Not a chance

[Cody_Russell]

This is a surprise. Wow. Good news for Mike Hughes and Chase Lucas.

Well, maybe NE (Patricia)

Yes.. Bears or Patriots. Small, small chance. Definitely practice squad for Kennedy when he highly likely clears.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

IDK how valuable PS spots are….but if it came down to it I’d rather have someone like Pimpleton on the PS rather than Kennedy.

The guy has pretty much maxed out his potential. I realize that people like him because he’s a worker, but he’s never going to be a good WR. I don’t see a future for him in Detroit (or in the NFL in general)

[mason reese]

Well if for no other reason there is no QB controversy in Detroit, no matter how poorly Goff plays...Who was the last good backup QB the Lions had? Rodney Peete/Erik Kramer? Eric hipple?

Harrington/Garcia?