When Greg Dortch signed with the Detroit Lions in March, he seemed destined to spend the duration of the 2026 season with the team.
At the time, he was seen as a one-for-one replacement for Kalif Raymond, the scrappy slot receiver and return specialist who had just defected for the Chicago Bears at the dawn of free agency.
He also had a history of working under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who called the plays during the final three seasons of Dortch’s tenure with the Arizona Cardinals.
Throughout training camp and the preseason, the 5-foot-7, 183-pound Dortch appeared to be the leading candidate for the fourth receiver role and was among the top players under consideration to serve as the Lions’ primary punt returner.
Then, just like
that, he was dumped Sunday when the team trimmed the roster to 53 men.
After resurfacing on the Buffalo Bills practice squad earlier this week, he told a group of reporters he was blindsided by the Lions’ decision.
“I’ve been put in the situation before, just getting cut and released,” Dortch said Tuesday. “But this one was a little bit different. It caught me off guard. I didn’t think I was going to be put in that position.”
Asked why the Lions elected to part ways with Dortch, general manager Brad Holmes implied Wednesday, Sept. 2, the veteran was simply beat out for a job.
“We wanted to add as much competition as possible the whole offseason,” Holmes said in Allen Park during his annual preseason press conference. “And look, when you add as much competition as possible – I thought it was a fierce competition – it adds more discomfort. But it also entails harder decisions. And so that’s all it really was. He was just part of that competition and unfortunately it didn’t work out. So, that’s why we made the move we made.”
The Lions earmarked only four spots for the receiver position – the fewest in the NFL.
Tay Martin – a 6-foot-3, 185-pound former UFL player – got the final spot. Martin outlasted Lucky Jackson, Tom Kennedy, Tarik Black, Malik Cunningham and Dominic Lovett to stay on with a corps of pass catchers that includes Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM Brad Holmes explains why Detroit Lions released WR Greg Dortch
