TE Shane Zylstra is back with the Detroit Lions.
Tight end Shane Zylstra is returning to the Detroit Lions for 2024 after missing the whole 2023 season due to an injury sustained during training camp.
The Detroit Lions are trying to keep some of their players, and on Monday afternoon, they revealed that tight end Shane Zylstra had been re-signed. Free agency is less than a week away.
Zylstra became a member of the Lions in 2021 and divided his time between the playing roster and the practice squad.
Over his first two seasons in Detroit, he participated in 17 games, starting two of them. However, he was sidelined in 2023 due to a season-ending knee injury sustained during training camp.
In August, coach Dan Campbell stated of Zylstra, He was a big component of our success last year as we started turning the corner. And, dude, he just does everything well. He is a grinder; he is employed.
The Lions now have three tight ends on the roster: James Mitchell, All-Pro Sam LaPorta, and Zylstra, who has returned to the squad.
While Anthony Firkser is expected to be an unrestricted free agent, Brock Wright, who was a member of the active roster during the previous season, is currently a restricted free agent.
Even though the Lions seem interested in bringing Wright back and may be trying to add competition and depth through the NFL Draft or free agency, they may feel comfortable entering training camp with only the three tight ends on their roster.
As a last technical note, Zylstra was supposed to be an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), but his return was publicized as a re-signing, which means they signed him to a conventional contract rather than through the tender.
It’s possible that Zylstra requested the removal of the ERFA classification, or it’s plausible that the Lions took this action in order to offer Zylstra a deal with a different structure (maybe one that included incentives, guarantees, and/or a signing bonus).
