| Detroit Free Press
Detroit Lions poised for regime-change win against Chicago Bears
Free Press sports writers Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarrez preview Sunday’s Detroit Lions game against the Chicago Bears.
For a team that is not exactly teeming with wide receivers, this news comes as a bit of a surprise: The Detroit Lions are planning to waive receiver Marvin Hall, NFL Network reported Friday.
Hall has 17 catches for 290 yards and two touchdowns while making five starts this season. He might be the Lions’ fastest player, and the team is short on pass catchers for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
Kenny Golladay will miss his fifth straight game with a hip injury, leaving Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola, Jamal Agnew and Quintez Cephus as the Lions’ only healthy receivers.
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Interim Lions coach Darrell Bevell said this week he hoped to generate more big plays on offense over the final five weeks of the season, and Hall, who averaged 37.3 yards on seven catches in nine games last year, seemed like a natural to help.
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His departure, however, likely means more playing time for Cephus, a fifth-round pick out of Wisconsin who has been targeted sparingly since Week 1.
The Lions also have four tight ends on their 53-man roster, including undrafted free agent Hunter Bryant, who could make his debut Sunday after being activated from injured reserve.
“We really liked what we saw out of him in training camp,” Bevell said. “He’s doing a nice job, but he’s still in his rookie year, still learning a lot. So give him an opportunity to get out on the field, see what he can do, see what we have and just go from there.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.