The first few waves of free agency are over, but the Detroit Lions know they aren’t done yet. In fact, there’s one player still out there that the Lions have no problem admitting they’re interested in signing; wide receiver Josh Reynolds.
Detroit let Reynolds hit free agency this year, but both coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes said publicly this week at the owners meetings that they are trying to bring him back.
“We’re still in contact with J-Rey,” Campbell said on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s a secret what we think about him as far as type of player he is. The unselfishness, the dirty work, the versatility. So look, I love J-Rey and that doesn’t mean something won’t get done.”
Reynolds has been with the Lions for the last two-and-a-half years, and has been a productive No. 2 receiver alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown. Last year, he produced 608 yards and five touchdowns for the team, while also being a determined run blocker.
Detroit has high expectations for third-year receiver Jameson Williams and expect him to compete for a full-time role. They also re-signed Donovan Peoples-Jones to a one-year deal this offseason. However, they still believe there’s enough room for Reynolds on this roster, and it was always the plan to bring him back.
“He’s one that was part of the original plans,” Holmes said. “Still having dialogue, we’ll just kind of see where that goes. But that’s really the only one that’s still out there who was in the original plans.”
As of now, it’s not clear what the hold up is. Reynolds is taking his time in free agency and had an in-person meeting with the Baltimore Ravens last week. But we’ll see how things progress as free agency rolls on.
That said, if the Lions aren’t able to bring back Reynolds, Detroit is confident that, with a full offseason of preparation, Peoples-Jones could offer a bigger a role in 2024 after catching just five passes for the team in eight games last year.
“He’ll have a better understanding of what we’re doing (when) we go into camp,” Campbell said. “And so I think what it does it just gives us somebody that we know can play the position. He’s a bigger-body guy, too, so he’s a little different than anybody we’ve got.”
