With Trade For Tim Wright, Lions Keeping Options Open At Tight End
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Tim Wright had barely had time to fill his locker - a backpack, a notebook and a few clothes were slung inside – before he was already in the midst of a position battle after a trade shipped him to Detroit from Tampa.
Wright arrived in Detroit on Tuesday morning, and is already seen as a player who could replace Joseph Fauria, who has disappointed in the preseason. Fauria has caught two passes for 19 yards in two preseason games, and could see his job taken before the 53-man roster is completed on Saturday.
With only three days between his arrival and those final roster cuts, Wright has to cram a lot of knowledge into that window. He practiced with the team for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm going to take it one step at a time," he said. "I've learned a lot of playbooks along my path, and it's nothing new – Xs and Os. It's a lot of similar terms and everything like that that I'm used to. I'm sure it'll be a nice, smooth transition for me."
Head coach Jim Caldwell would not commit to an answer of whether or not Wright would play in the Lions' final preseason game Thursday against the Bills.
But for now, Wright is seen as the kind of tight end that can be an option in the offense, especially after tight ends have struggled in Detroit in recent years. Tight ends accounted for two touchdowns last season (Fauria had one and Eric Ebron the other).
Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't target his tight ends a great deal either: Ebron led the position with 49 targets, which was sixth on the team behind two receivers and three running backs. Brandon Pettigrew, another tight end, was targeted 15 times, and Fauria 12 times.
With Ebron kicking off his second-year campaign this season, those numbers will surely increase, as he'll be more accustomed to the size and speed of the NFL game and could have an easier time getting open.
And with the addition of Wright, Detroit adds an option who has already had a decent couple of years in the league. He caught six touchdown passes in New England, even though he was the team's second option at tight end behind Rob Gronkowski. And in his rookie year with the Bucs, he had more receptions (54) than any Lions tight end had targets last season.
"It's my third year in the NFL," Wright said. "Each year I want to continue getting better doing what I'm doing, doing what the coaches ask, and just continue to put great things on film and just having teams and coaches and owners believe in me."
Having that viable, pass-catching option at tight end is something that can change an offense. Defenses are stretched thinner to cover everyone who could realistically get open and make an offensive play.
"The thing about those guys is they aggravate you because defenses hate giving up first downs and just moving the chains," said Lions safety Glover Quin, who has spent his career playing against those kinds of offensive options. "You give up a big play as a defense; it's probably a blown coverage or a missed tackle … Okay, those things happen. But when teams just methodically drive the ball down the field … They run the ball on first down, run the ball on second down, now you got third-and-three, and boom, they hit the tight end for a first down. … That's really frustrating as a defense."
According to Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, that's exactly what Wright brings to the table.
"You can just look at him in our game last year, you can see (Tom) Brady targeted him a number of times so got it, can catch, he's dependable and reliable," he said. "So we'll see what he looks like in our system."
Some qualities, though, transfer to any system in America. And those are ones that Wright says he brings. They're also what Quin says defenses despise.
"Third-down conversions, scoring touchdowns and stuff like that," Wright said. "That's my game."
