With training camp the next thing on the league calendar, these three former Detroit Lions starters might just be done in the NFL.
The Detroit Lions are now in a position of real strength. The last two years of not necessarily being able to be overly selective with who they add, keep or get rid of are gone. The roster looks pretty good, and the expectations this year start at a division title for the first time since 1993.
There are some notable former Lions who are still available here in mid-June. Be it due to age, recent performance, simply being willing to wait to sign, etc. Some may even be a fit to help this year's team, in a certain sense.
But shifting way from those who could help this year's team, or help any other team in the league for that matter, these three former Lions starters may simply be done in the NFL.
3 former Detroit Lions starters who might just be done in the NFL
3. TE Eric Ebron
Ebron, the 10th overall pick in 2014, has a special place in Lions' fairly recent draft bust lore. He ended the 2021 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers on IR due to a knee injury, after Pat Freiermuth had usurped him on the depth chart. He tweeted he was medically cleared in February of 2022, but a workout with the New York Giants around the time training camp started last July was the only sniff of interest he had. He did not play last season.
This offseason, there hasn't been much out there about Ebron. He sort of surfaced as someone the Carolina Panthers could have interest in, as he'd reunite with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich there (Ebron played for the Colts in 2018 and 2019). But if that was going to happen, it probably would have by now?
Somehow Ebron is still just 30 years old, and he had 56 catches for the Steelers in 2020. But with a season out of the league as a big signal, he may have already played his last snap as an NFL tight end.