Breshad Perriman #19 of the Detroit Lions (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Breshad Perriman was only very briefly a Detroit Lion, but he’s now been let go by a second NFC North squad.
As they mined the lower tier of wide receiver free agents last offseason, as they should’ve at the start of a rebuild, the Detroit Lions landed on Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman. Williams suffered a concussion in Week 1 and was waived from IR this past week. Perriman didn’t even make it to Week 1 before being cut.
In early September, the Chicago Bears signed Perriman. On Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears released the former first-round pick.
Perriman never got into a game for the Bears, and with that they apparently realized they no longer needed to keep him around as they move toward a Week 10 bye. He has now failed to stick with two teams who aren’t exactly deep at wide receiver this year. In the case of the Lions, they willingly ate what was nearly $2.5 million in fully guaranteed salary by cutting him. A preseason hip injury wasn’t helpful to his cause as the Lions made final roster cuts.
Breshad Perriman’s NFL career might not be over
Perriman was drafted 26th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. A knee injury cost him his entire rookie season, and he played 27 games for Baltimore over the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He played 10 games for the Cleveland Browns in 2018, before a bit of a breakthrough late in the 2019 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then spent the 2020 campaign with the New York Jets.
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As a first round bust turned journeyman, Perriman might not get many more chances in the NFL. But even with his flaws as a polished receiver, he does have a career per-catch average of 16.5 yards. As Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson find landing spots in the coming days, teams that miss out on them might consider Perriman. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com pointed to the possibility of a Browns’ reunion with him, after he clears waivers, based on the rapport he showed with Baker Mayfield in 2018.
The Lions won’t be pursuing a reunion with Perriman, that much is absolutely certain.