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Detroit Lions give contracts to James Houston, Kayode Awosika; 5 others test free agency
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- Detroit Lions give contracts to James Houston, Kayode Awosika; 5 others test free agency
The Detroit Lions officially placed a right of first refusal tender on tight end Brock Wright before the start of the 2024 league year Wednesday , and let six other restricted or exclusive rights free agents test the market.
The Lions did not tender contracts to long snapper Scott Daly , defensive tackle Benito Jones , linebacker Anthony Pittman or defensive backs Jerry Jacobs , Khalil Dorsey and Chase Lucas .
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Daly, Jones, Pittman, Jacobs and Dorsey were restricted free agents, while Lucas was an exclusive rights free agents.
Some of those players still could return to the team.
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The Lions also tendered exclusive rights offers to guard Kayode Awoskia, linebacker James Houston and running backs Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight .
Exclusive rights tenders are league-minimum contracts, while Wright stands to make $2.985 million on his RFA tender . The contract is not guaranteed, but the Lions retain the right to match any contract Wright signs in free agency.
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An undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame in 2021, Wright has appeared in 41 games with 19 starts for the Lions over the past three seasons. He set career-highs with 18 catches for 216 yards in 2022, and last season caught a key touchdown pass in a Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers . He has been used mostly as a blocking tight end to this point in his career.
Wright had 13 catches for 91 yards in 2023, but missed the playoffs with a broken left forearm.
Lions fans: Celebrate the team's renaissance 2023 season with a new book from the Free Press, "From Grit to Glory."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions tender contracts to James Houston, Kayode Awosika
