According to the NFL transaction wire, veteran tight end Tyler Conklin has passed his physical after missing the first week of training camp with a calf injury suffered in the spring. That almost certainly means Conklin will come off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list when the Lions return to practice on Thursday.
His return comes just in time, as the Lions’ tight end room has suffered several injuries already in camp. Veteran tight end Anthony Firkser has already been placed on injured reserve
with a broken leg. And the Lions also placed Miles Kitselman on injured reserve with a leg injury of his own. To help out, Detroit has added Nick Muse and re-signed Zach Horton.
But the return of Conklin figures to be the biggest impact of all the Lions’ maneuvering in the tight end room. Conklin is an eight-year veteran who has put up at least 400 receiving yards on four different occasions. Detroit signed him to a one-year, $1.3 million deal this offseason to compete for the tight end depth behind Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright.
Though Conklin is coming off a tough year with the Chargers, he caught at least 50 passes in each of the four previous seasons. He brings a strong blend of receiving skills and physical play to a room that struggled with its depth last season.
Additionally, the Lions re-signed wide receiver Tarik Black to fill the roster spot left after placing Kitselman on injured reserve. And receiver Lawrence Keys reverted to the Lions’ injured reserve after the team waived him with an injury designation earlier in the week.
