4 free agent wide receivers the Detroit Lions should avoid

1. Sammy Watkins

From a certain perspective, as a marriage of him seeking a good opportunity and a need for reinforcements, Watkins might make sense for the Lions. But along the same line opined by Alex Kay of the Bleacher Report, and backed by our take, signing him would be a move with a good bit of risk and very little reward for Detroit.

Watkins registered career-lows in catches (27) and yards (394) with the Baltimore Ravens last season. He also missed four games–three with a hamstring injury and one on the COVID-19 list. A knee issue also bothered him late in the season.

At this point in his career, Watkins is more name than actual game. Baltimore was his third team in five seasons, and he has topped 600 yards (and 40 catches, for that matter) in a season just once in the past six campaigns. Injuries haven’t helped, but they are a key part of the equation too. Ask the Kansas City Chiefs how quickly they wanted to move on from Watkins after signing him to a three-year, $48 million deal in 2018.

The Lions may have Watkins on their list of wide receiver free agent targets, with the logic of leaving no stone unturned. But he is an injury-prone stone that has already been turned over by other teams, so the Lions don’t need to bother to see if he can somehow stay healthy next season.