Inactivity at wide receiver leaves Lions with uninspiring remaining 'fit'

It can be debated how big a loss wide receiver Josh Reynolds was for the Detroit Lions in free agency But it's clear he has left behind an experience void, at minimum, to say nothing of a long-time connection he had with Jared Goff dating back to their time with the Rams.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes recently expressed confidence in the current wide receiver group, as assistant general manager Ray Agnew pretty much did too. And here in May, it's not like there a lot of good options available anyway. Seemingly by the day, that thin list of options gets thinner.

For whatever it's worth, Holmes did leave the door open for a wide receiver addition if necessary down the road.

"That’s not saying that we won’t add. That’s a position that, especially when you get into camp, those guys put a lot of yardage on the field,” Holmes said. “So you always gotta at some point, you need to add a guy here or there when some attrition comes.”

Inactivity at wide receiver leaves Lions with uninspiring remaining fit

ESPN's Bill Barnwell has suggested 10 post draft trades or signings that should happen. The Lions made the list, with a player the door has seemed open to before-Texans wide receiver Robert Woods.

Houston's acquisition of Stefon Diggs possibly made Woods an odd-man out in the Texans' receiving corps and they've since acquired Ben Skowronek from the Rams.

Woods is a very easy odd-man out at that, older (32) and with a $6.25 million base salary for this year. Just $1.5 million of that salary is fully guaranteed, but the Texans could (will?) ask him to take a pay cut.

"The odd man out is likely going to be Woods, who doesn't play much on special teams and has a $6.3 million base salary this year. Only $1.3 million of that figure is guaranteed, but the Texans likely will release Woods if he doesn't take a pay cut for the remaining amount or retire. The 32-year-old is still an effective blocker and a good teammate, but he hasn't been as productive aftertearing his ACL with the Rams in the middle of the 2021 campaign. He was averaging 1.8 yards per route run that season, but he dropped off to 1.2 YPRR with the Titans in 2022 and 1.1 with the Texans in 2023."

"The Texans wouldn't get much more than salary relief and a swap of Day 3 picks, but if former Rams executive Brad Holmes -- who's now Detroit's GM -- could persuade Woods to take a pay cut down to the $1.5 million range, a trade here could benefit both parties."

-Bill Barnwell, ESPN

Woods spent five seasons (2017-2021) with the Rams. There he of course overlapped with Goff and Holmes, with Holmes in the front office when Woods was signed as a free agent.

But Woods doesn't have the skill set that's missing in the Lions' wide receiver group, and he doesn't play much on special teams. The Lions also shouldn't have to give up noticeable/unconditional assets in a trade, and the Texans seem likely to just cut him at some point.

Woods might be worth a shot as a training camp invite for the Lions if or when he's available. Beyond that, and at least right now, it's not a great fit.