Sunday's 37-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals marked a fourth straight win for a high-scoring Detroit Lions team that has put up at least 34 points in each of its victories. While the rash of cornerback injuries facing Detroit has the potential to sting even more with a grueling schedule coming up, the Lions' offense has been firing on all cylinders through five weeks.
Those injuries, however, seem to have spread to the wide receiver room when wide receiver Kalif Raymond exited the win over the Bengals with a neck injury, paving the way for rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa, the third-round pick out of Arkansas, to get some additional playing time. While TeSlaa filled in admirably with a 12-yard TD reception late in the game, a recent update on Raymond's status for the Week 6 meeting against the Kansas City Chiefs does not make it sound like the rookie will see an uptick in snaps.
Raymond remains listed as questionable, but according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, WRs coach Scottie Montgomery said the team is "very hopeful" to have Raymond for this week's game against the Chiefs. While the team being in the best position to win is what matters the most, this update is not what the rookie standout wanted to hear after head coach Dan Campbell noted that TeSlaa will continue to gain more opportunities in practice throughout the week if Raymond were to miss any time.
Raymond News Will Likely Keep TeSlaa from Additional Playing Time
Raymond has six catches for 47 yards this season, but the veteran has made his biggest impact on special teams, accounting for a punt return TD and returning two kickoffs for a total of 60 yards. As much of a threat as Raymond is on special teams, TeSlaa's production has actually surpassed what the veteran has done thus far at the WR position. TeSlaa only has three catches total for 54 yards, but two of those receptions have been for TDs. In addition to the TD grab on Sunday, TeSlaa scored the only TD of the game for Detroit in its season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers when he made a phenomenal one-handed catch.
Fourth-year receiver Jameson Williams has been quiet with 11 catches for 223 yards and a TD thus far. This is a far cry from his breakout 2024 campaign when he posted career highs in receptions (58), targets (91), receiving yards (1,001), and receiving TDs (7). Despite the drop off in production, Campbell had nothing but high praise for Williams, mostly due to his blocking down the field as a receiver and his ability to help in other ways beyond just making catches.
The same can be said of TeSlaa, who has been a contributor on special teams, embodying the description of a team player that Campbell emphasizes to his teams. The potential for Raymond to start this weekend is not good news for TeSlaa's snaps at WR, but if he continues to make big plays and showcase his potential in limited action, his time will likely come at some point.