On Tuesday afternoon, the Detroit Lions made headlines by signing a veteran wide receiver.
Normally, adding a wide receiver this late in free agency doesn’t move the needle. However, when the Lions introduced longtime wide receiver Devin Funchess as their latest addition, they did so with an interesting caveat.
Funchess is no longer playing wide receiver. No, the Lions announced the Funchess addition and listed him as a tight end.
Check it out.
It’s been an interesting NFL career for Funchess, who started out with the Carolina Panthers. He and Cam Newton cooked up some magic late in the 2017 season and it seemed like Funchess finally found his groove as an NFL wide receiver.
However, he’s struggled to stay on the field over the past four seasons. After falling off in 2018, Funchess played a very small role for the Indianapolis Colts in 2019.
He eventually signed with the Green Bay Packers, but opted out of the 2020 season. He never played for the Packers as he was placed on the injured reserve before the 2021 season.
Funchess inked a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, but was released just a few days later.
Now he’s trying to reinvent himself as a tight end.