Hakeem

Valles

Undrafted out of Monmouth, Valles spent one season with the Cardinals before spending most of two years in Detroit. He finished up last season on the Giants’ practice squad. Only 26, Valles said he is retiring to pursue a career in real estate.

Valles had played just 29 snaps this season, hauling in two-of-three targets. He was likely waived to make room for an additional defensive player given Detroit’s plethora of injuries heading into Sunday’s tilt against the Packers.

Valles caught two passes for 26 yards from Matthew Stafford as he played almost exclusively with the first-team offense as their receiving tight end while Levine Toilolo was used in the blocking game alongside of Luke Willson. Valles has now caught seven passes for 68 yards this preseason while Willson and Toilolo have combined to catch just two passes for 12 yards. Willson also suffered a knee injury on Friday, potentially further clearing a path for Valles to make a contribution as the pass-catching tight end in Detroit.

He finished with one catch for five yards on two targets. Valles played two fewer snaps than Levine Toilolo, who also had a catch, but four more than both Luke Willson and Michael Roberts. This is a situation to avoid at this point, but Valles will at least be interesting if he can carve out a bigger role.