Detroit Lions announced on Wednesday that it had hired former Cleveland Browns and New York Giants receiver Damion Ratley.
Ratley was chosen by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of 2018, when John Dorsey was the general manager. Dorsey, of course, is now a senior staff executive for Lions, so he has probably explored Ratley quite extensively. After two years in Cleveland, he was discharged at the start of the 2020 season. From then on, he spent a month with the Giants and the rest of the season on the Texans’ training team.
In his three years in the NFL, Ratley played 31 games and six games. In that time, he picked up only 29 passes for 407 yards and a touchdown.
Ratley becomes the fourth new wide receiver that Lions are adding in this free agency period. They have already hired Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman and reportedly will also sign Kalif Raymond.
All four hires have one thing in common: speed. Like the rest of them, Ratley has sword speed, reportedly running a 4.39-yard run of 4.39 during his professional day, three years ago.
Ratley has a little bit of versatility from the inside out, which means he could fight for the position of the Detroit slot receiver or provide depth on the outside behind Williams and Perriman – he was used both as a deep and on-screen threat while in Cleveland.
Ratley was released by the Houston Texans last week, so he will not count against the Lions compensatory choice formula, no matter what the terms of the contract are.
The Lions also confirmed the hiring of linebacker Alex Anzalone, about which we write more here.