The Detroit Lions have an open roster spot heading into their Week 1 matchup at Ford Field Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. There's also a chance that one of the two practice squad call-ups for the game could include a wide receiver with only four on the current 52-man roster.
That means there's a tremendous opportunity for practice squad wide receivers Allen Robinson, Tim Patrick, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tom Kennedy.
Robinson is a 10-year veteran with size (6-foot-2) and experience. He has 562 career receptions for 7,028 yards and 43 touchdowns and had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019-20 playing for Chicago. He had 34 receptions in 17 games playing for Pittsburgh last season.
View photos from Detroit Lions practice on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Brandon Joseph (12) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit lions wide receiver Allen Robinson (8) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaiah Williams (83) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor (29) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick (17) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87), Detroit Lions tight end James Mitchell (82) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch (32) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (15) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Trevor Nowaske (53) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Dan Skipper (70) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Parker Hesse (43) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on September 3, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
"It's a great opportunity," Robinson told detroitlions.com in the locker room after practice Tuesday. "Obviously, this is a team that's had success. They have an established culture. A veteran quarterback. It's a great opportunity.
"Obviously for me coming back home to my hometown, it's good. I'm looking forward to it."
Robinson said he's looking at this week as a competition to earn a call-up and his main focus was just getting the playbook down and getting as acclimated as he could so if he is called upon to help he'll be ready.
"Just trying to go out there and make plays and do the best I can," he said.
Patrick, 28, missed the last two seasons after tearing his ACL in August 2022 and his Achilles in July 2023. Despite those injuries, he's worked his way back and caught five passes including a touchdown in the preseason. Patrick (6-4, 212) caught 53 passes for 734 yards and five touchdowns for the Broncos in his last full season in 2021.
"It's fun, bro," Patrick told detroitlions.com of the opportunity. "A team that has big goals and I'm just glad they chose me to compete for that spot."
The one thing missing right now from the Lions' receiving corps is size, and Robinson and Patrick both provide that. It will be interesting to see what the Lions decide to do against a Rams' defense that like Detroit has a lot of new players in the secondary since the last time these two teams met.
"Yeah, in between periods – like special teams periods I can get with them and talk with them. I think it's so valuable for me to hear how they like things and how I like things and how certain steps should be how we do it differently than maybe places they've been," quarterback Jared Goff said of working with Patrick and Robinson in practice this week.
"I think it's super valuable. So yeah, I'll get 10, 15, 20 minutes of reps in between periods with them and they love it. They're both vets. They're both going to be great players for us. It's fun to work with vets like that where that learning curve seems to be a bit shorter, and you can kind of speak a language they can understand."
