The Detroit Lions had to make a lot of difficult decisions on the roster cutdown deadline on Sunday. Bringing a 90-man roster all the way down to 53 is not easy. Especially for a team as deep and talented as the Lions, it's inevitable that a few deserving players would be left out.
After the final roster was set, a lot of the focus was on the exclusion of Nick Whiteside and Greg Dortch. This was understandable, considering how Whiteside had emerged as a solid cornerback in training camp, and how Dortch seemed to be on track to be the WR4. At least the Lions brought Whiteside back to the practice squad, while Dortch headed to Buffalo.
Another under-the-radar surprise cut was Tyler Conklin. The 31-year-old tight end had joined the Lions early in the offseason after spending last season with the Los Angeles Chargers. As a proven pass-catcher and blocker, Conklin was expected to make the roster.
Instead, the Lions released him. In addition to Sam LaPorta, they brought Brock Wright and Jackson Meeks onto the roster as the three tight ends. Conklin losing out to Meeks, who just switched from wide receiver to tight end this year, was certainly unexpected.
What was even less expected was that the Lions initially didn't bring Conklin back. In the 14-player practice squad they announced on Monday, the Lions had Thomas Gordon as the only tight end.
Lions are reportedly re-signing Tyler Conklin two days after cutting him
On Tuesday, however, the Lions changed course. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that the Lions were signing Conklin. As of 2 pm EST on Tuesday, it's not clear whether this is for the practice squad or the 53-man roster. If it's for the latter, the Lions will have to move on from someone on the roster, as they don't have an open spot.
Practice squad players can be activated three times throughout the season before they have to be signed to the roster. Conklin will be eligible to be activated right away in Week 1.
Having another capable tight end on the team will certainly help Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
Detroit made the surprising decision to only include four wide receivers on the roster. No other team in the league has fewer than five wideouts. This suggests that there will be creative sets from Petzing, which could include three tight ends.
That is when Conklin could come in handy. His experience and versatility give the Lions another depth option in case of an injury. Petzing is known to utilize his tight ends, so we could see all of Detroit's TEs, not only Conklin, having a bigger-than-expected role this season.
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