The Detroit Lions worked out wide receiver Lawrence Keys III during a Monday tryout. The team has now officially added him to the practice squad.
According to the NFL transaction wire, the Lions signed Keys to their practice squad Wednesday. Keys is returning to Detroit after the team waived him on August 5 and eventually parted ways with the wideout on an injury settlement.
Keys entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2024. He starred at Tulane thanks to tremendous speed.
“Keys has blistering speed with a 10.3 seconds timed in the 100 meters and 4.35 in the 40-yard dash,” wrote Rene Nadeau of Crescent City Sports. “He is a punt returner extraordinaire who also has a good catching radius as a receiver. Keys makes acrobatic catches, excels on crossing routes and blows past single coverage.”
Lions Sign WR Lawrence Keys III to Practice Squad
NFL teams can never get enough speed, especially at wide receiver. Keys will provide that as his best attribute from the Lions practice squad.
Keys is back with the Lions after a college career at Notre Dame and Tulane. From 2019-21 for the Fighting Irish, the wideout had 18 catches for 185 yards in 21 games. He then had an opportunity to really shine at Tulane. From 2022-23, Keys registered 33 catches, 599 receiving yards and seven scores while averaging 18.2 yards per catch.
In 2024, Keys began his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills. He didn’t make the Bills roster partially due to injury in August 2024. This past spring, Keys played for the Houston Gamblers of the UFL. He had 1,001 all-purpose yards for the Gamblers during the 2026 UFL season.
He’s now back in the NFL, though, after spending part of the 2026 preseason with the Lions. Keys signed with Detroit this offseason on June 18.
Keys is one of three wide receivers on the Detroit practice squad entering Week 4. The other two are Dominic Lovett and Lucky Jackson.
At the beginning of the regular season, the Lions had just four receivers on their active roster. To begin October, the Lions have five wideouts now — Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Tay Martin and Tom Kennedy.
The Lions will face the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 of the 2026 NFL regular season. The two teams will square off on Sunday Night Football in Charlotte.
Detroit trails Carolina in the all-time series between the two clubs 4-8. In the last meeting, though, the Lions defeated the Panthers 42-24 during the 2023 regular season.
The Lions lost their last visit to Carolina 37-23 on Christmas eve 2022. Detroit hasn’t won in Carolina since 1999. Since then, the Lions have lost six straight road games versus the Panthers.
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