In an effort to bolster their depth at the tight end position, the Detroit Lions have signed Devin Funchess. Primarily a wide receiver in the NFL, it seems that Funchess’s attempt at resurrecting his NFL career will be at tight end.
#Lions have signed free agent TE Devin Funchess. pic.twitter.com/961YKXRAmS
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) June 14, 2022
Naturally, T.J. Hockinson led Lions tight ends in offensive stats last season. He caught 61 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns last year. Funchess, on the other hand, hasn’t played a single snap in the NFL since the 2019 season. Even then he only played in one game, catching three passes for 32 yards for the Indianapolis Colts. His stint with Indianapolis was quite brief though, and he only appeared in a single game with them.
http://gty.im/1162819402
The Career of Devin Funchess
Likely more known for his collegiate career with the University of Michigan Funchess opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID after signing with the Green Bay Packers. He was released by Green Bay in August of 2021 without having played a single down for them. He spent the 2021 season on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.
For his career, Funchess has 164 catches for 2,265 yards and 21 touchdowns. His best season came in 2017 when he caught 63 passes for 840 yards and eight touchdowns for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers selected him with the 15th pick of the second round in 2015.
In his college career, Funchess found massive success with the Wolverines. Over the course of his three-year collegiate career, he had a total of 126 catches for 1,715 yards and 15 touchdowns. He played four seasons in the NFL with Carolina before briefly finding his way to Indianapolis for a season. Outside of his career-best season in 2017, he has not eclipsed 600 yards receiving in a season.
Where he will find himself on the depth chart remains to be seen. But there is definitely room for Devin Funchess to show that he can still play in the NFL on Detroit’s roster.
