Getty Damion Ratley celebrates a touchdown catch.
The Detroit Lions came into the 2021 offseason with the important goal of trying to find some playmakers for cheap, and they have managed to get that done with more than a few signings so far.
While many of the players the Lions have signed to catch passes from Jared Goff are unknown, there is a chance for all of them to take off and make a bigger name for themselves moving forward. Such is the case for yet another under-the-radar signing that the team revealed this week.
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On the same day the Lions revealed they had signed linebacker Alex Anzalone, the team also quietly revealed that they were bringing a new wideout into the mix in the form of Damion Ratley. Ratley comes to the Lions after bouncing around a bit in the NFL with stops in Cleveland, New York and Houston in the last three seasons in the league.
#Lions sign LB Alex Anzalone and WR Damion Ratley
It’s not surprising to see the Lions giving a shot to Ratley given the fact that he was a draft pick of John Dorsey when he was with the Browns. Ratley was waived last season, given a shot in a few places but didn’t make much of an impact so he was left on the free agency market until now.
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Ratley’s Stats and Highlights
At just 25, it’s clear that Ratley is the type of player that perhaps could have plenty of time and opportunity left to make a big difference in the league if only he is given the chance. Thus far in his NFL career, Ratley has 407 yards and 1 touchdown to his credit. Those aren’t huge numbers, but Ratley has also not been given a huge chance to make an impact up until now.
Ratley attended Texas A&M where he put up 920 yards and 8 scores in a three-year career. While his production has not been high, he has solid size at 6-3 to rely on, and given the lack of depth in Detroit, could be looking at the chance of making a huge impact on the roster and being given a major chance to be a big contributor.
As the highlights show, Ratley has been a wideout that has been relied on in the past, so it will be interesting to see what he can bring the Lions.
Lions Chipping Away at Wideout Depth
The Lions came into the offseason in an unsure position in terms of their wide receiver depth, but during free agency, have taken some steps to make some decent upgrades to the position. Detroit signed wideouts Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman to short-term deals in free agency, and with the addition of Ratley, could be in good position to ensure that they have depth ahead of the NFL Draft, where the team is expected to be active hunting for wideout talent for the future.
Detroit’s 2021 draft will be very active in terms of wideout, and more additions could come there, perhaps even early. If these additions like Ratley do anything, it might lesson the burden a young player might face coming to the Motor City early on in his career at a key position.
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