Lions Return Multi-Sport Wide Receiver to Detroit for Sixth Season.
With a number of players returning on reserve or future contracts, including a multi-sport great who has played for the Detroit Lions multiple times, the team is beginning to make plans for 2024.
Ten players were invited back by the Lions to fight for roster spots for the upcoming season, as reported by Jeff Risdon of USA Today. Tom Kennedy, a wide receiver who has been on and off the Detroit roster since 2019, was among the group. Kennedy returned to the practice squad during the last campaign.
Tom Kennedy Goes Back to Detroit
Kennedy was added to the practice squad by the Lions on November 29, providing more depth following the departure of veteran Marvin Jones Jr. for a personal reason. Initially signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, he played parts of five seasons for the Lions, totaling 14 receptions for 195 yards.
Kennedy was waived in August after receiving an injury settlement, CBS Sports, but he had joined the team for training camp the previous summer.
Kennedy, who played football and lacrosse at Bryant University, gained notoriety as a multi-sport athlete in college, according to ESPN.
After being selected by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse in the 2018 draft, Kennedy experienced professional sports for the first time. Kennedy became the first player to play in both the NFL and a professional lacrosse league when he signed with the Lions the following season.
Kennedy’s popularity among Lions supporters improved, as Christian Booher of SI.com pointed out, following his spectacular 75-yard touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond in the 2021 season finale and his continued success in the preseason of 2022.
Along with linebacker Mitchell Agude, receiver Maurice Alexander, offensive lineman Matt Farniok, running back Jake Funk, offensive tackle Connor Galvin, cornerback Craig James, safety Brandon Joseph, offensive lineman Michael Niese, and defensive lineman Chris Smith, the Lions also brought back nine other players on futures contracts.
Lions coach knows there will be obstacles.
The team will need a wide receiver, according to Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire, though it’s unclear if Kennedy could provide more than he has in his five seasons in Detroit.
“Donovan Peoples-Jones and Josh Reynolds are both free agents without restrictions. Reynolds was the No. 2 receiver according to targets. It is necessary to have both overall depth and a player to take up that role in the offense; Reynolds’ return is one possibility. Writer Risdon
For the upcoming season, the team is already under increasing strain. The challenge would be even more tough in 2024, Lions head coach Dan Campbell cautioned after his team blew a 17-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game, missing out on what would have been the franchise’s first trip to the Super Bowl.
As I mentioned to the guys, this might have been our last chance. Do I believe that? No. Do I think that to be true? No,” Campbell stated via SI.com following the defeat on Sunday. But I am well aware of how difficult it is to get here. Regaining this level of performance will be twice as difficult as it was this year. That is the truth, and we have no chance of returning here if we don’t have the same work ethic and hunger throughout the offseason—which is something else entirely. It makes no difference how much better we get, what we add, or what we draft.
