Allen Park — No Amon-Ra St. Brown, no DJ Chark, no D’Andre Swift. No problem.
It wasn’t just a record-setting day from tight end T.J. Hockenson that kept the Lions afloat in Sunday’s 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Detroit also got a strong performance from wide receiver Josh Reynolds, whom the team picked up off waivers near the end of last season.
Against the Seahawks, Reynolds hauled in seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown a week after catching six passes for 96 yards.
“I think my travels coming to this point has helped me a lot. It’s gave me patience. It’s given me a lot of info. I’m just blessed — blessed being in this position, blessed to have the coaches believe in me, Jared (Goff) believe in me,” Reynolds said.
“And as I get going, it’s gonna get better.”
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Last week’s performance against the Seahawks was proof that he’s as versatile as he is reliable. Reynolds was tasked with flipping between the Z and X receiving positions as injuries continued to shorten the Lions’ depth.
“A lot of guys played well last week, but I would say that whole group, the whole receiver group, I was really proud of,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “He probably took the biggest burden of it just because he was bouncing around more than everyone else, but those guys did not miss a beat. (Quintez Cephus) unfortunately went down when he did, and we didn’t have to change what we were calling because of it.”
The situation was helped a little bit by Reynolds’ relationship with Goff, his former quarterback when the two were with the Los Angeles Rams. Reynolds played 64 games for the Rams from 2017-20 and Goff 69 games from 2016-20.
“I think it helps a lot. I mean, it’s everything, being able to have that repertoire and being able to know whether I’m over here or whether I’m over there. I know that he knows where I’m going to be within a route,” Reynolds said. “So I mean, it’s awesome.”
But after spending a few seasons with Reynolds, Goff wasn’t surprised by his breakout performances. If anything, it’s something he was anticipating.
“It’s just practice reps. He’s been practicing…at Z last week. We had our X go down and he had to slide over to X, and with a guy like him, it’s not as hard as it would be for other guys maybe,” Goff said. “He’s pretty smart and can handle all that stuff. It’s still a testament to his work ethic and just how much he knows what we’re trying to do on offense.”
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Kennedy on the rise
Fans of underdogs will be thrilled to know that Lions receiver Tom Kennedy will be back in uniform this week against the Patriots.
Kennedy was temporarily promoted to the practice squad for last week’s game against the Seahawks but was officially signed off the practice squad to an open roster spot this week.
“He’s a guy that had to take the humble road,” Johnson said. “He’s battled and (I) always compare him to Danny Amendola. I had Danny in Miami and then was lucky to have him — be with him for a couple of years up here. And Tom picked up a lot of his game from Amendola.
“Selfless, balls to the wall every single play, it doesn’t matter — practice or in a game — he’s getting after it. … I’m very excited for him capitalizing on this opportunity to be on the active roster and see more playing time.”
In three preseason games this season, Kennedy caught 16 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He made his NFL debut for the Lions in 2019 and played 12 games a season ago, where he threw a 75-yard touchdown pass in the season finale to Kalif Raymond.
Injury update
The Lions got a few starters back at practice on Thursday after a lengthy injury report the day prior, but offensive tackle Taylor Decker was the only to engage in a full practice.
Linebacker Chris Board (knee), defensive lineman John Cominsky (wrist), offensive tackle Matt Nelson (calf), St. Brown (ankle), Swift (shoulder/ankle) and Cephus (foot) did not practice.
Offensive guard Kayode Awosika (hamstring), center Evan Brown (ankle), defensive lineman Charles Harris (groin), offensive guard Jonah Jackson (finger), center Frank Ragnow (foot), kicker Austin Seibert (groin), Chark (ankle), Hockenson (hip) and Reynolds (ankle) were limited.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi