NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 24: Josh Reynolds #18 of the Tennessee Titans runs the ball during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Nissan Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Chiefs 27-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Josh Reynolds made sense as a trade target for the Lions, and now that he’s freely available the fit still applies.
The 0-8 Detroit Lions didn’t really need to tell us they weren’t going to use their No. 1 placement in the NFL waiver order on Odell Beckham Jr. But that doesn’t mean the market lacks options to add at wide receiver, and on Tuesday afternoon the Tennessee Titans released Josh Reynolds after he asked to be let go.
Reynolds signed a one-year deal with the Titans last offseason. In five games he had 10 catches for 90 yards, with his heaviest action in Week 4 against the New York Jets when A.J. Brown and Julio Jones were both out (78 snaps) and Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs (30 snaps; 44 percent snap share). He played just five snaps in Week 8, and he was a healthy scratch in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams–his former team.
Josh Reynolds is ideal WR pickup for the Lions
That history with the Rams is what ties Reynolds to the Lions. Detroit general manager Brad Holmes was the Rams’ director of college scouting from 2013-2020, and Reynolds was a fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2017. And of course, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was the Rams’ quarterback from when he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2016 through last season.
With his role with the Titans so minimized, Reynolds made sense as a trade target for the Lions before the deadline. Now he’s available to claim on waivers, the Lions have the No. 1 spot in the waiver order and Reynolds will come very cheap. As Mike Garofolo of NFL Network cited, a claiming team will owe him just $500,000 for the rest of the season.
Reynolds had five touchdowns as a second-year player in 2018, and he had his best catch (52) and yardage (618) totals in 2020. As the Lions look to get better performance out of Goff after the bye week, adding someone he has shown chemistry with couldn’t be a more ideal addition to the wide receiver group.