Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions re-signed tight end Shane Zylstra to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. Zylstra will return to Detroit despite missing all of last season while on Injured Reserve due to a knee injury that he suffered in training camp last summer. The 27-year-old should be ready for training camp this summer, though, and he'll be battling for a roster spot after recording 14 receptions on 22 targets for 94 yards and four touchdowns (all in 2022) in his first two years in the league in 2021-22. Among those that Zylstra will be competing with for a depth role this summer will be Brock Wright and James Mitchell. Sam LaPorta, who had an amazing first year in the NFL in 2023, is the Lions' unquestioned top pass-catching tight end.

The Detroit Lions want to sign wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to a long-term contract extension this offseason and are scheduled to meet with his representatives at the NFL scouting combine this week in Indianapolis. No deal is imminent, but the Lions have made it clear they want to invest in St. Brown and the rest of their roster this offseason. Detroit is also prioritizing getting a new deal done with quarterback Jared Goff. St. Brown, entering his fourth NFL season, is in line for a multi-year extension that will make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. He tied for second in the NFL with 119 catches in 2023 and finished third with 1,515 receiving yards t earn first-team All-Pro honors. St. Brown will be a top-five fantasy wideout in 2024 fantasy drafts without a doubt.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that wide receiver Jameson Williams is going to push to be a full-time starter in 2024. "By the end of the year, we really felt like he was coming into his own," Campbell said of Williams. The 22-year-old former first-round pick was suspended for the first month of his sophomore season in 2023 due to gambling and ended up finishing the regular season with 24 catches on 42 targets for 354 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games (10 starts). He added a TD on three rushing attempts. Williams steadily saw more time on the field as the season progressed, but he wasn't much of a factor as a deep threat with quarterback Jared Goff preferring underneath routes. As long as Goff is Detroit's starting QB, Williams will likely be a boom/bust fantasy receiver.

Free-agent kicker Michael Badgley has returned to the Detroit Lions by signing an undisclosed one-year deal with them on Thursday, according to his agent. Badgley only appeared in four games for the Lions in 2023, going 4-for-4 on his field-goal tries while making 13 of his 15 extra-point attempts. The 28-year-old spent most of the season on the practice squad before he replaced Riley Patterson for the final four games of the regular season and the playoffs. In total, he made all seven of his field goals and went 24-for-26 on his extra points last year. Badgley isn't just going to be handed the starting kicker job in 2024, most likely having to compete with another kicker that Detroit brings in this offseason.

The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes that Denver Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick (Achilles) stands out as an obvious cut candidate as the team enters the offseason at around $24 million over the salary cap threshold. Patrick has missed each of the last two years with injuries suffered during training camp -- first a torn ACL in 2022, and then a torn Achilles in 2023. The injuries came on the heels of a three-year, $30 million deal that he signed with the team in November of 2021, which came with $18.5 million guaranteed. The 30-year-old is set to count $15.5 million against the cap this year, but he has no guaranteed money left on his deal. Releasing him would free up $9.5 million in cap space. Patrick was one of the more underrated pass-catchers before his two season-ending injuries, but his fantasy stock has gone out the window due to his two unfortunate injuries the last two summers.