Lions match 49ers offer sheet, keep tight end Brock Wright

Wednesday was the last day the Detroit Lions could match the offer sheet the San Francisco 49ers gave tight end Brock Wright. According to reports from ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, and made official by the team, the Lions have matched that offer sheet and Wright is staying put.

The offer sheet was a reported three years, $12 million with $6 million guaranteed. The original round tender the Lions gave Wright was one-year, $2.985 million with no guaranteed money. That allowed him to search for a better deal elsewhere, which he found with San Francisco.

Hypothetically, until we see the structure, it may only be a two-year commitment with an out for the third year. But it's clear the Lions value Wright, who has played more than 1,000 snaps over the last two seasons, as their No. 2 tight end and a primary run blocker. Even if his work as a run blocker has not been graded out particularly well by Pro Football Focus (45.9 last season; No. 65 out of 76 qualifiers below 50.0 all three seasons of his career).

Lions match offer sheet, keep Brock Wright

That being said, and even without a high volume of catches in his career (43 catches in his three seasons), Wright has made some clutch plays for the Lions.

Last season, Wright had a key 29-yard catch and run on a 3rd-and-1 during the Lions' playoff win over the Buccaneers. Craig Reynolds scored to finish that drive and give the Lions a 17-10 lead.

It's also fair to say Dan Campbell sees a lot of himself as a player in Wright, and his quote from last November is telling (h/t to Ben Raven of MLive).

"We talk about investing in reliability, right? He’s an investment because this guy is as reliable as they get,” Dan Campbell said about Wright in November 2023."

With Wright officially back, the Lions now have a full tight end depth chart with he, James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra behind Sam LaPorta.