Tag: Tom Kennedy

Tom Kennedy among 11 players signed to reserve/future deals by the Lions

The Detroit Lions signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts, including WR Tom Kennedy and OT Connor Galvin

One of the first orders of business for all teams in the offseason is to sign players to reserve/future contracts. With the Lions season not ending until after the NFC Championship game, it took longer than other years.

The Lions added 11 players to reserve/future deals on Tuesday. A reserve/future contract is a commitment by the team to bring the players back with a chance to compete for spots in the coming season. Typically, they are players coming off the practice squad or unsigned street free agents who had some connection to the team.

The biggest name is wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who has been on and off the Lions roster since the 2019 season.

The full list:

  • LB Mitchell Agude
  • WR Maurice Alexander
  • OL Matt Farniok
  • RB Jake Funk
  • OT Connor Galvin
  • CB Craig James
  • S Brandon Joseph
  • WR Tom Kennedy
  • OL Michael Niese
  • DT Chris Smith

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WR Dylan Drummond replaced by a different preseason phenom on the Lions practice squad

The Detroit Lions cut summer phenom WR Dylan Drummond from the practice squad to sign veteran Tom Kennedy, who once had the same summer buzz

Over the summer, Detroit Lions fans quickly learned the name Dylan Drummond. The undrafted rookie wide receiver from nearby Eastern Michigan was a training camp and preseason darling, a popular projection to stick on the initial 53-man roster.

Drummond did indeed parlay an impressive summer into a spot in Detroit, albeit on the Lions’ practice squad. And now he’s the latest in a line of recent preseason phenoms to fade away quickly after being replaced by one of his predecessors.

On Wednesday, the Lions signed veteran wideout Tom Kennedy to the practice squad and released Drummond to make room. Kennedy returned after being waived/injured over the summer, ironically a situation that presented Drummond with a bigger opportunity. A free agency visit early in the week convinced the Lions to sign Kennedy and let Drummond go.

The sticky-handed Drummond caught nine passes for 87 yards in the preseason. He showed the ability to get open quickly out of the slot, and Drummond also offered some return man potential — basically Kennedy’s role in Detroit for most of the last four seasons.

Alas, Drummond’s summer star lost some luster over the season. The Lions brought Kennedy back to effectively extinguish the once-bright light. Now Drummond goes the way of Kalil Pimpleton, Chris Lacy, Jace Billingsley, Travis Fulgham, Andrew Peacock and other wideouts who thrived in the summer but couldn’t make it in the autumn or winter, at least not with the Lions.

Kennedy remains one of the very few summer success stories who emerged as a viable NFL talent. Drummond could still find a path in the NFL, but it’s a big climb after being replaced by Kennedy. Drummond was buried as the No. 3 WR on the Detroit practice squad (behind Daurice Fountain and Maurice Alexander) as a smallish wideout with poor speed (4.62 40-yard dash) and lacking considerable collegiate accomplishment.

Lions hosted Tom Kennedy for a free agent visit

Lions hosted WR Tom Kennedy for a free agent visit for the second time in six weeks

The NFL’s transaction wire was pretty quiet on the Detroit Lions front over the last few days. But Tuesday’s appearance on the league’s log raises an eyebrow.

Per the official release, the Lions hosted free-agent wide receiver Tom Kennedy for a visit. Yeah, that Tom Kennedy, the one who played for the Lions from 2019-2022 and was a fan favorite for much of his time in Detroit.

Kennedy was waived with injury status during the first week of training camp. He suffered a left arm/shoulder injury. Detroit then waived him from the I.R., which allowed him to try and come back instead of being out all year.

It’s the second time this season the Lions have checked in with Kennedy, who has not signed with any other team since the Lions waived him. After his last visit, the Lions instead opted to trade for WR Donovan Peoples-Jones to replace Marvin Jones on the roster.

 

Lions host WR Tom Kennedy for a free agent visit

Lions hosted WR Tom Kennedy, who played three seasons in Detroit, for a free agent visit

After losing Marvin Jones from the receiving corps due to family matters, the Detroit Lions are at least considering bringing another ex-Lions wideout back into the den.

The Lions hosted Tom Kennedy on a visit on Wednesday, per the NFL’s transaction wire. Yes, that Tom Kennedy.

A member of the Lions from 2019-2022, Kennedy played in 20 games for the Lions over parts of those seasons. He often bounced between the practice squad and the active roster.

Kennedy was waived with injury status this summer after he suffered an arm injury in July. He was waived from the injured reserve after going unclaimed. The veteran slot receiver and one-time lacrosse player has good familiarity with the team and what the Lions might ask of him.

Kennedy was not immediately signed as of press time.

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Tom Kennedy clears waivers, now on the Lions injured reserve list

Wideout Tom Kennedy cleared waivers and is now on the Detroit Lions injured reserve list

There was a familiar face out at Sunday’s Lions practice. Even though he’s no longer on the active roster, wideout Tom Kennedy was visible on the practice fields with his left arm in a sling.

Kennedy was waived earlier in the week with injury designation. The Lions opted to sign USFL standout Trey Quinn to take his place on the roster.

Kennedy cleared waivers and thusly reverted back to the Lions. Because he was waived with an injury, he is now on Detroit’s injured reserve list. He is out for the season, barring an interesting loophole.

The Lions could offer Kennedy an injury settlement from the IR. Kennedy would have to sit out for some time, but he could re-sign with Detroit after that time period if he doesn’t sign with any other team first. The extent of the shoulder/arm injury would determine the amount of time Kennedy must sit. He suffered the injury early in the week, and it was described as “serious” by a position coach.

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.

Lions lock up 10 practice squad players to reserve/future contracts

The Detroit Lions signed 10 players from the team’s practice squad to reserve/future contracts, including WR Tom Kennedy

In the first official order of business of the offseason, the Detroit Lions signed 10 players who finished the season with the team to reserve/future contracts.

All 10 completed the season on the Lions’ practice squad and were technically street free agents free to sign with any team. A reserve/future contract is a commitment by the team to bring the players back with a chance to compete for spots in the coming season.

The 10 players the Lions signed to reserve/future contracts on Monday:

WR Maurice Alexander

WR Stanley Berryhill

S Brady Breeze

CB Khalil Dorsey

OT Obinna Eze

RB Jermar Jefferson

WR Tom Kennedy

OL Darrin Paulo

DT Demetrius Taylor

CB Jarren Williams

The reserve/future contracts do not count against the Lions salary cap.

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Tom Kennedy returns to the Lions practice squad

Tom Kennedy returns to the Lions practice squad

Tom Kennedy never left Detroit after being waived on Saturday in advance of the Week 15 game with the New York Jets. The Lions wideout knows the roster game and his role in it.

Kennedy re-signed with the Lions on Tuesday, this time with the practice squad. The Lions waived Kennedy when they activated RB Craig Reynolds from the injured reserve and needed a roster space. With the wide receiver room essentially healthy, Kennedy was the odd man out.

Now he’s back on the Lions roster as part of the seventh transaction Kennedy has had with the Lions since the final roster cutdown.

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Lions activate RB Craig Reynolds, waive WR Tom Kennedy

Lions activate RB Craig Reynolds, waive WR Tom Kennedy in series of Saturday roster moves

The Lions fleshed out the depth chart on Saturday with a series of roster moves. Detroit activated RB Craig Reynolds from injured reserve and waived WR Tom Kennedy.

Earlier on Saturday, the team had ruled out DL Michael Brockers with an illness and also downgraded RB Justin Jackson to questionable. That made activating Reynolds a likely move. Reynolds had been practicing for the last two weeks after being designated to return from IR.

Detroit also elevated LB Jarrad Davis and QB Joshua Dobbs from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Jets in New York.

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Lions PFF Grades: Young core graded high in victory over Packers

The Detroit Lions relied on their young core to bring them home against the Green Bay Packers and PFF grades reflect the strong performances

Individuals are always looking for immediate success and instant gratification, so patience surrounding the Detroit Lions rebuild has come with some frustration and turmoil, considering how the last few weeks have gone. However, even though it was only one win, this one seemed different when the Lions defeated their division rival, the Green Bay Packers, to a tune of 15-9 with the help of one of their defensive performances in some time.

The most fulfilling part of the whole endeavor was seeing the young guns blooming right in front of our eyes. With how the team is built, the Lions have to rely on a slew of young players, and, at times, they make questionable mistakes, but with the right guidance and coaching, they perform admirably, and that was what was shown against the Packers. If they continue their trajectory, the sky is the limit for the Lions young core.

As such, this week’s PFF grades have many of their young players sitting right on top, assuring that what we saw was not just a mirage.