The Detroit Lions dropped an early morning bombshell on fans, with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reporting that the team had traded Tim Patrick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Patrick, an eight year veteran who was set to be the teams' starting WR3, now finds himself jumping from a contender to a rebuilding effort down in Florida.
This communicates a lot about the Lions' confidence in rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who will now be splitting reps at WR3 between himself and Kalif Raymond, and not between Raymond and Patrick. Earlier this week, head coach Dan Campbell had suggested that TeSlaa was going to have an important role in the offsense pretty early in the year - but, it wasn't anticipated it would've come this soon.
Per ESPN, the Lions are getting back a 2026 sixth round pick for Patrick.
Lions send Patrick to Jacksonville Jaguars
This has officially swung the door wide open for TeSlaa, who was the most impressive rookie for Detroit in all of preseason. He led the team with three receiving touchdowns, two of which were quite acrobatic. His blocking, pass catching, and reliability while playing with Kyle Allen was too much to ignore.
The Lions also kept rookie Dominic Lovett in the fold ahead of this year's 2025 season, and he's someone who could also factor in to the offense now that the team is carrying six wide receivers. However, it's more likely he'll be a special teams option, acting as a gunner and occasional punt returner.
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Patrick had a sudden competition form in training camp for that WR3 role with TeSlaa after he had a really solid year with Detroit in 2024. He finished up last season with 394 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 33 total receptions, a completely solid line for the Lions' third or fourth option on offense in the air.
But, he had struggled to begin camp, telling reporters, “I feel great. That’s why I’m just frustrated that it’s not showing right now, because in OTAs it did. Training camp is a little different, I just gotta pick this shit up.”
TeSlaa is likely expected to produce similar, or better, numbers than Patrick did last year. Of course, the main focus of the offense remains with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, but TeSlaa adds a big dimension to Detroit's offense with his side and ability to get separation downfield.
If he continues to make big plays in man coverage like he was in preseason, he's going to quickly rise up the Lions' depth chart and in their offense.