Will Tim Patrick make his debut against Tampa Bay?

To find another reliable option for Jared Goff, the Detroit Lions have signed two experienced wide receivers to their practice squad.

Aside from Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, the Lions are relatively thin on the wide receiver position. Currently, there are only two other players on the roster at this position: Isaiah Williams and Kalif Raymond.

A fifth player, Tom Kennedy, was called up from the practice squad for Week 1. However, going forward, expect one of Tim Patrick, Allen Robinson or Donovan Peoples-Jones to be called up from the practice squad to bolster the offense.

When asked if Patrick will make his debut in the near future, Campbell pointed to the ongoing competition between all options in an effort to find the best solution for the team’s receiver depth.

“All of these guys are competing. When you’re on the veteran team, you work hard every day and we have our eyes open,” Campbell said. “I told them all that last week, so we’re paying close attention to him, Robinson as well. All of our options are on the table and we’re just taking it as it comes.”

Patrick was the most important addition to the practice squad, as reports surfaced shortly after the final cut that he wanted to join the Lions. He has missed the last two seasons due to serious injuries, but there is optimism that he can contribute in the near future.

He may not make his Lions debut this week, but Detroit has freed up a spot on the active roster by waiving defensive tackle Chris Smith. This gives the Lions flexibility on the roster and it will be interesting to see how they use it.

Rodriguez’s role

Third-year linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez missed the entire preseason due to a hamstring injury and therefore missed valuable reps, but he has clearly built a level of trust within the coaching staff in his first two seasons.

As a result, he played a role on defense with 14 snaps in the Week 1 win. The Oklahoma State product started 15 games as a rookie in 2022 but played a limited role in 2023, but also saw action at fullback.

Detroit has built a strong linebacker team overall, led by Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Jack Campbell, but the performance of Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin has given Campbell and position coach Kelvin Sheppard confidence in their ability to utilize all of the team’s options at any time.

“We have no problem with Rodrigo playing. There’s a lot of trust and belief in him now. He’s a smart, conscientious player. We feel like he’s improved, even before he got hurt, and then when he came back, the hamstring was good, he picked it up pretty quickly once he was able to get back there. When you trust your guys to go in there and help you, man, it’s a relief. Our linebackers do so much for us, all of them, (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ, Rodrigo, Alex, Barnes, Jack, even (Ben) Niemann.”

This depth allows the Lions to keep their options fresh at all spots. While Anzalone, Barnes and Campbell are expected to take the majority of the action, the ability to also use Rodriguez, Reeves-Maybin and Niemann without interruption can keep everyone healthy until the end of the season.

“With all of this, we spread the load on them because we trust them,” Campbell explained. “They can take time off each other between special teams and defense. That’s how you get productivity, but I think that will also help us in December and January.”

Notes

Safety Brian Branch had strong moments in the season-opening win, but also missed several tackles and dropped interceptions, finishing among the team’s worst PFF-graded players with an overall defensive grade of 55.2.

While his struggles are by no means an indicator of his overall ability, Branch took responsibility for his difficulties and promised Campbell to make up for the mistakes made in Sunday’s game, as he is one of the best defensive players on the roster.

“BB – I’ve talked about Kerby (Joseph) before. I thought Kerby did a good job and BB made a lot of plays, but one of the first things he says when he comes back to the locker room is, ‘I’m not going to miss these tackles anymore.’ So he knows it and he’s really one of our best tacklers in general,” Campbell said Monday. “He’s had his first game. But overall he just needs to work on communication a little bit, but I thought it was promising where our D-backs are at.”