Lions Signing Dortch Puts Writing On The Wall For This Second-Year Player

The Detroit Lions have made an addition to their receiving corps, and it could have a ripple effect on their depth.

On Wednesday, the Lions signed veteran wide receiver Greg Dortch. A veteran who entered the league as an undrafted free agent, he brings plenty of experience and versatility to Detroit's receiver room.

Dortch has 145 career catches for 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns, and spent the last five seasons in Arizona including three with new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He doesn't project to be a player who is challenging the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams for snaps, but his addition will have an impact on the team's depth chart.

One player who will be directly affected by Detroit's new wideout is Dominic Lovett. The Lions drafted Lovett in the seventh-round of the 2025 draft, and he remained on the active roster but made a minimal impact in his rookie season.

With the departure of veteran Kalif Raymond, Lovett looked primed to step into the vacancy of punt returner. However, the addition of Dortch now creates a competition for that spot. Dortch has 99 career punt returns, averaging 8.9 yards per in his career.

Raymond signed with the Chicago Bears last week, reuniting with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and ending a five-year tenure where he served as the team's primary punt returner and third receiver.

In 2025, Dortch also added kick return duties to his tally as he returned 31 kicks for the Cardinals. This versatility indicates that the Lions could turn to him to fill the void left by Raymond's departure. In turn, this would put the pressure on Lovett to make an impact in camp to secure a role.

Lovett was tabbed as a potential Raymond replacement and special teams contributor after being drafted, but he did not carve out a significant role in that area. For the season, Lovett appeared in 12 games as a rookie, returned one kick and logged 14 total offensive snaps and 50 total special teams snaps.

Meanwhile, Dortch has seen his role grow over the past several seasons in Arizona, with the last three coming under Petzing's tutelage. He told reporters in his introductory press conference that Petzing was a big reason why he chose Detroit, and he appears to be in line to be the team's fourth receiver behind St. Brown, Williams and Isaac TeSlaa.

There could wind up being room for both Dortch and Lovett on the final active roster if Lovett has a strong fall. Aside from the previously mentioned wideouts, Tom Kennedy, Jackson Meeks and Malik Cunningham are the only two wideouts on the roster. However, it may be difficult for Lovett to carve out a role outside of special teams action.

The addition of Dortch does not directly leave Lovett on the outside looking in, but it certainly ratchets up the pressure for the second-year wideout to make a direct impact in training camp.