Pros and Cons of Lions Re-Signing WR Kalif Raymond
Kalif Raymond put up career-best receiving numbers in 2021, and now will be a free agent this offseason.
Perfect timing for the 27-year-old.
The 5-foot-8, 182-pounder proved to be a versatile weapon for the Lions' offense this past season.
He not only returned 21 punts for a solid 236 yards (11.2 yards per return). But, he also caught a career-high 48 balls for 576 yards and four touchdowns.
And, along the way, he produced a couple of monstrous receiving games.
He amassed north of 100 receiving yards twice, including a career-best 115 yards in Week 7 against the L.A. Rams and 101 yards in Detroit's season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
Sure, he's no No. 1 receiving option or even a No. 2. But, the Georgia native more than proved his worth throughout the course of the 2021 campaign, and developed a nice rapport with Lions signal-caller Jared Goff.
Junfu Han, USA TODAY NETWORK
Goff spoke glowingly of Raymond and his work ethic after the speedy wideout's career day against the Rams.
"It’s been fun to work with him,” Goff told reporters. “I think I’ve been lucky to work with some really good receivers who practice hard and like, he practices hard. Cooper Kupp was the same. Robert Woods was the same. Brandin Cooks was the same, and Kalif is the same in that way, where you know where he’s going to be. You can trust him. You can rely on him and he’s accountable, and that’s all you can ask for as a quarterback.
“I think he’s surprised everyone with the way he practices, and he kind of sets the standard for that receiver room of, ‘I’m going to return punts. I’m going to play special teams, and then I’m going to run every route at full speed. And, that’s how you get better.'"
It's why Raymond's got a chance to be re-signed by Detroit this offseason.
According to Spotrac, he'll be able to demand a salary of around $2.9 million on the open market.
For that type of money and on a short-term deal (one or two years in length), it is more than worth it to ink Raymond to a new contract.
If I'm Lions general manager Brad Holmes, I'm bringing Raymond back to the Motor City in 2022.
