The Detroit Lions announced Wednesday that they traded veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round draft pick.
Patrick, 31, caught 33 passes with three touchdowns last season for Detroit.
This move comes after a stellar preseason and training camp from rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. TeSlaa now looks like he's headed for an early role in the offense.
"He's no different than any young player," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of TeSlaa following Detroit's final preseason contest.
"He's just going to have some growing pains. He's going to continue to get better and better. But I'm very pleased, we're very pleased with where he's at after six weeks of camp.
"I'd say, if you took most receivers, he'd be in the upper echelon of those, as far as development. He's – it's pretty good. It's not easy to develop as a receiver in this league and be ready to go, and I think there's a place for him to help us early in this season."
TeSlaa caught 10 passes in the preseason for 146 yards and had a touchdown catch in each of Detroit's last three preseason games. He showed advanced route running and hands for a rookie receiver in camp, and garnered instant credibility from veteran teammates and coaches with his willingness and ability to be physical in the run blocking game, a prerequisite to play receiver in Detroit. He also showed the ability to help on special teams.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are the top two wide receivers for the Lions heading into next week's regular-season opener in Green Bay Sept. 7. Veteran Kalif Raymond was taking a lot of the No. 3 reps at receiver with the first team in camp. TeSlaa now very much becomes part of the mix at receiver for quarterback Jared Goff with his big catch radius (6-4, 214) and 4.4 speed. Fellow rookie draft pick Dominic Lovett also made the initial roster and could have a role.
