The Lions no longer owe the Jets any draft picks for Denzel Mims

The Lions will keep their own 2025 6th-rounder and the Jets hold onto their 7th-rounder that year now that Mims is waived

The Denzel Mims experiment ended earlier than hoped for both the Detroit Lions and the fledgling NFL receiver himself. The Lions waived Mims on Friday with a waived/injured designation.

Mims had not practiced in two weeks since suffering a leg injury in a practice-time collision with teammate Tracy Walker on August 5th. He had been working primarily at that point with the second-team offense, with mixed results. Mims had been emerging as a potential special teams asset, however.

Now that Mims is gone, so is the conditional draft pick that the Lions agreed to send to the Jets in the trade for the 2020 second-round pick earlier this summer. The Lions and Jets effectively canceled the trade, which involved a late-round pick swap in the 2025 draft. Both picks involved were conditional, based upon Mims making the Lions initial 53-man roster.

Mims is subject to waiver claims, though that seems unlikely given his injured status. If he goes unclaimed, the wideout reverts to the Lions’ injured reserve, with a five-day window to reach any potential injury settlement.

Lions to waive WR Denzel Mims and sign WR Jason Moore

Lions to waive WR Denzel Mims and sign former Chargers WR Jason Moore

Denzel Mims, we hardly knew ye…

The Lions are waiving Mims a day after Detroit head coach Dan Campbell hinted that a move was in order with the injured wideout. Mims had not practiced since leaving the field on August 5th with an ankle injury.

Acquired via trade with the New York Jets earlier this summer, Mims never suited up for the Lions beyond a handful of early training camp practices. The former Jets second-rounder is still dealing with the ankle injury.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports that the Lions already have the Mims replacement ready to roll. Per Wilson, the team is signing former Chargers wideout Jason Moore. The 28-year-old Moore has spent most of the last four seasons on the Chargers practice squad. He played collegiately at D-II Findlay.

Lions waive/injure WR Denzel Mims, Jets won’t receive 2025 pick

Mims’ time with Detroit is already over.

The Lions are moving on from wide receiver Denzel Mims after just a few weeks. The team is releasing the former Jet with an injury designation, per Ian Rapoport. A practice ankle injury led to a calf injury during rehab for Mims.

As a result of the Lions cutting Mims, the Jets will not receive a 2025 draft pick from the Lions. The condition for the pick to convey to the Jets was that Mims had to make the 53-man roster. That will obviously not happen now, so Detroit will keep their pick.

Mims reportedly was impressing during camp and seemed to have a shot to make the roster. The Lions could release him with an injury settlement and he could land elsewhere. For now, he’s done with the Lions and the Jets won’t get their pick down the line.

Lions WR Denzel Mims remains out, his Detroit future uncertain

Lions WR Denzel Mims remains out with a leg injury and his Detroit future uncertain after Dan Campbell’s comments before practice

It’s been 12 days since we’ve seen wide receiver Denzel Mims on the Detroit Lions practice field. Mims got hurt in a friendly-fire practice collision with safety Tracy Walker on August 5th and has not been seen since.

It’s a disappointing development for the Lions and Mims, who the team traded for earlier this offseason. Based on what Lions head coach Dan Campbell said before Thursday’s practice, it might already be the end of the line for Mims in Detroit.

In his pre-practice press conference, Campbell was asked directly about Mims. But immediately before the inquisition on Mims, Campbell was asked if the team was looking to bring in any wide receiver help.

Campbell’s response,

“We’re kind of in that a little bit. We potentially may need to add somebody after today. We’re looking into that … to do that, you have to move on from somebody.”

It’s an important pretext for the answer and the tone Campbell gave when talking about Mims.

“He’s in the room,” Campbell blankly said of Mims.

When asked if Mims was close to returning, Campbell responded,

“We’ll see. Wish I could give you more.”

With Jameson Williams likely out for the preseason and Amon-Ra St. Brown hobbled with an ankle injury suffered in Wednesday’s practice, the Lions have a shortage of bodies at the position. Mims had been working as Williams’ primary backup in the early part of training camp, but that has been derailed with the unspecified leg injury.

It is extremely difficult to not read between the lines Campbell drew on Mims, though the coach did not directly or overtly indicate that Mims’ status with the team was in peril.

 

Lions training camp notebook: 1st day of joint practice with the Giants

Breaking down the notes and noteworthy news from the Detroit Lions first joint practice session with the New York Giants

Tuesday morning brought the New York Giants to the Detroit Lions training facility in Allen Park for the first of two scheduled joint practices between the two teams. As promised by Lions head coach Dan Campbell, it was a good situation for Detroit to go against guys in other jerseys for a change.

Here’s some of what stood out from the first joint practice session on Tuesday, August 8th.

 

 

Will Detroit Lions WR Denzel Mims make an impact in fantasy football?

Mims was acquired recently by Detroit, but does it even matter?

An argument can be made that Detroit Lions wide receiver Denzel Mims has been as big a victim of circumstance as a second-round bust from the 2020 draft. To sum up his three years with the New York Jets is brief. He missed the first six games of his career. In his first six games with then-heralded Jets savior Sam Darnold, he caught 19 passes for 325 yards and had at least one catch of 23 or more yards in five of them. When the Jets moved on to Zach Wilson in 2021, in his final six games, Mims was targeted nine times and caught just one of them for four yards. Last season, he played in just 10 games – because he was inactive seven times and caught 11 passes in the 10 he played. It seemed clear he wasn’t a good fit with what the Jets wanted to do.

Make no mistake. Mims isn’t a bum. He has legit 4.38 speed, but the Jets have proved organizationally willing to move on from first-round quarterbacks quicker than most – much less second-round receivers. Loyalty is in short supply with the Jets.

The window of opportunity for Mims was minimal at the end of last season and made worse with the signing of Aaron Rodgers and the arrival of his running buddies Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb to go along with significant franchise investments made in Corey Davis and Garrett Wilson. It was time for Mims to go. He was the WR5, at best, in New York.

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His release was eventual, but the Lions saw enough in him to offer a minimal trade deal – a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 for a seventh-round pick from the Jets in 2025. If Mims doesn’t make the 53-man roster in 2023, the deal is off and everybody walks away.

In the NFL, once a guy leaves the team facility, those who kept quiet start talking. Mims isn’t immune. The word from Florham Park was that Mims struggled to pick up the offense at an elemental level. He comes to the Lions with a clean slate to prove himself and show he can make an impact.

Fantasy football impact

If Mims wants to reclaim his career, the best thing he has going for him is a Lions offense that is going to throw 600 times or more this season. The suspension of Jameson Williams for the first six games of the season will be critical for Mims to make an impression beyond being a core special teams player.

In terms of fantasy value, Mims will be drafted by friends and relatives only. That said, he is a player to watch – the Lions open the 2023 season in the Thursday opener. Depending on what you see in snap counts and production, he could be the first roster pickup in your league, but having never shown any semblance of sustainability, he doesn’t have fantasy value until he’s shown it. He’s a reactive fantasy commodity, not a proactive one.

Lions sign wide receiver Trey Quinn, waive Tom Kennedy

The Detroit Lions sign wide receiver Trey Quinn, waive WR Tom Kennedy

The Detroit Lions waived wide receiver Tom Kennedy, the team announced on Friday. Kennedy was waived with injury status. To replace Kennedy on the roster, the team signed wide receiver Trey Quinn.

Coming out of SMU for the 2018 NFL Draft, Quinn was a 6’0″ and 203 pound receiver that ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds and had a 3-cone drill of 6.91 seconds. He originally played football at LSU before transferring to SMU.

When going through the draft process, there was speculation that he could be a 4th or 5th round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. However, he ended up being the Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant as the last pick after he was selected by Washington.

Quinn ended up playing two seasons with Washington before being waived in September of 2020. During that time, he recorded 35 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns.

After being put on waivers, he was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. As his practice squad contract expired, he ended up in Las Vegas before being placed on injured reserve.

Since then, he has had a brief stint with the Denver Broncos and ended up being a key contributor at receiver for the Michigan Panthers this spring in the USFL. For the Panthers, he ended up posting 37 receptions for 438 yards and four touchdowns.

As the Lions continue to look for depth at wide receiver, Quinn will look to make the teams 53-man roster. Players such as Marvin Jones and Jameson Williams not practicing due to injury and being on the NFI list will give Quinn the opportunity to compete.

5 new developments to know from the first days of Lions camp

Here are a few developments from the first few days of training camp that represent some change from the initial pre-camp thought process.

The Detroit Lions get their first day off from on-field activities in training camp on Thursday. It’s a good time to reset for the players and coaching staff to reevaluate where they are in the ramp-up to the padded practice sessions that begin over the weekend.

Here are a few developments from the first few days of training camp that represent some change from the initial pre-camp thought process.

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New Lions WR Denzel Mims believes he’s ‘got the playbook down already’

New Lions WR Denzel Mims believes he’s ‘got the playbook down already’ after being traded from the Jets

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Denzel Mims has been looking for a fresh start for over a year. The physically gifted wideout believes he’s found a place where he can thrive in Detroit.

The Lions traded with the New York Jets for Mims last week. Mims never really worked out with the Jets since being a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Baylor. He had asked for a trade out of New York a year ago but the Jets never found any takers.

Now that he’s in Detroit, Mims is ready to prove that the Jets were the problem, not him.

“It was a fresh start for me, a new start for me,” Mims said during Lions training camp of the trade. “I was excited to get here, I wanted to get here right away, they got me here right away so I could get started and get acclimated to the team. I’m just blessed to be here, honestly.”

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Mims has already shown the speed and ability to make impressive catches down the field while getting to know QB Jared Goff and his new Lions teammates. He’s also been working hard to master offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s intricate playbook.

“I already got the system kind of down,” Mims stated. “Been in early, staying late. Pretty much got the playbook down already.”

That remains to be proven, of course. Even so, it’s encouraging to hear Mims putting in the extra time and focusing on making the most of his second chance. In New York, Mims wasn’t exactly notable for his work ethic or dedication. The chance to prove himself in Detroit is off to a flying start.

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Detroit Lions training camp battles: Wide Receivers

A look at the Detroit Lions training camp battles at wide receiver from Lions Wire’s Russell Brown

Say what you want but the depth at wide receiver for the Detroit Lions is better than it’s been in a few seasons. While there might be some low expectations for some players in the group, the Lions have built something that they’ve been intending on building since the arrival of this regime.

That something is competition.

By drafting, trading and signing players such as Antoine Green, Denzel Mims and Marvin Jones Jr., the Lions should be able to find some consistent contributions from one, if not all three players this season.

For Antoine Green, he’s a seventh round pick from North Carolina in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s a deep ball specialist that averaged 19 yards per catch for the Tar Heels while possessing sub-4.5 speed. In 2022, he had 798 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was picked over some veteran receivers to make the 53-man roster.

As for Mims, he’s a former second round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft. While I wasn’t his biggest fan coming out of the draft, he does have sub-4.4 speed and could be a player that just needs a change of scenery. We’ve seen the Lions have success with players changing teams such as John Cominsky and Charles Harris. Mims does only have 42 receptions for 676 yards in his career so my expectations are low. But again, he adds depth and competition for training camp.

When you look at the rest of the roster, players such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones Jr., and Kalif Raymond should be safe to make the roster. Jameson Williams will make the roster but won’t be available for the first six weeks of the season with his suspension on gambling.

Another veteran that the Lions have is Josh Reynolds. After posting 38 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns, he’s coming off his best season with Detroit. He should easily earn a spot on the roster as a 3rd or 4th receiver.

It’s possible that the Lions cut a player such as Denzel Mims for a player such as Maurice Alexander, Trinity Benson or Tom Kennedy. However, I don’t see that being the case. Between those three players, they’ve totaled 17 receptions for 305 receptions and 33 games played.

Regardless of what happens, I’d have low expectations for that final roster spot when it comes to loading the stat sheet on offense. Much of the Lions production at receiver should come from Amon-Ra St. Brown, who posted a career 106 receptions in 2022.

While the Lions did have five receivers last season, I could see them carrying six receivers this season. Here’s how I’d project the Lions wide receiver room for this season:

  • Amon-Ra St. Brown
  • Marvin Jones Jr.
  • Josh Reynolds
  • Kalif Raymond
  • Jameson Williams (Suspended — won’t be on the active 53-man roster)
  • Denzel Mims (Six week trial run to start the season. Could move on after activating Williams)
  • Antoine Green (Practice squad. Could keep him on the PS or activate based on performance of Mims)

The way I see it, the final roster spot at receiver will come down to Denzel Mims and Antoine Green. With how rocky Mims career has been so far, I’d expect the Lions to go in favor of Green.

However, they could put Green on the practice squad to start the season and they could give Mims a six-week trial while Jameson Williams is out of the lineup. If Mims doesn’t produce, they could move on from him while activating Williams and promoting Green to the 53-man roster.

Regardless of how it turns out, it’ll be interesting to see how training camp turns out for the Lions depth chart at wide receiver this summer.