On Friday the Detroit Lions made a roster move that wouldn't have been incredibly notable but one of the names attached. Wide receiver Tom Kennedy, a past preseason star, was waived with an injury designation and former "Mr. Irrelevant" Trey Quinn took his place on the roster.
Kennedy suffered an upper body injury while attempting to make a catch during last Wednesday's practice. If he cleared waivers after the period for other teams to claim him, he'd revert to the Lions' injured reserve list.
Not surprisingly given his injury and unknown? severity, Kennedy indeed reverted back to the Lions' IR list. He was seen at practice on Sunday morning, with a sling on his left arm--which indicates an arm or shoulder injury.
Tom Kennedy out at practice with his left arm in a sling. He was waived with that injury a couple days back.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) July 30, 2023
Kennedy may not have been waived by the Lions if he was healthy, and if he had been another team would have likely snapped him up. So it's an unfortunate circumstance for a guy who will never be a star but deserves a spot somewhere on an NFL team.
The Lions have a couple remaining options with Tom Kennedy
Kennedy can stay on the Lions' injured reserve list, which would end his 2023 season. Any players who are placed on IR before final cutdowns to 53 players heading into the season are not eligible to come off the list.
Otherwise, perhaps at his request, the Lions can release Kennedy with an injury settlement. That would make him a free agent. But NFL rules say if a team releases a player with an injury settlement they can re-sign him after a certain period of time. As Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit reminds us, the Lions did that with safety C.J. Moore last year. Moore was waived/injured in August, reverted to IR, was released with an injury settlement and was signed off the Houston Texans practice squad in October.
So Kennedy could end up back with, and play for, the Lions this year. As long as his injury isn't a definite season-ender, an injury settlement to let him go unabated as a free agent sometime soon is likely.