The Lions are saying goodbye to a veteran tight end and picking up a veteran offensive lineman.
Detroit has released Tony Scheffler, a tight end who has been sidelined the last two weeks with a concussion. Joseph Fauria, the undrafted rookie backup tight end, has seen increased playing time with Scheffler out and has played well, so the Lions decided that Scheffler was expendable. (And Scheffler losing his job while sidelined by a concussion is yet another example of why some players try to hide concussion symptoms.)
With the open spot on their roster, the Lions have signed free agent offensive tackle Barry Richardson. The Lions’ top three offensive tackles, Riley Reiff, Jason Fox and Corey Hilliard, are all dealing with injuries right now, so adding a veteran at the position was important. Richardson started all 16 games for the Rams last year and started all 16 games for the Chiefs each of the two seasons before that, so he could be an option to step in and start immediately if the regular tackles can’t go on Sunday against the Cowboys.