Detroit Lions sign wide receiver Josh Reynolds to 2-year contract extension – MLive.com

Josh Reynolds is getting a new deal with the Detroit Lions after impressing with the team during a seven-game run to end the season. The wide receivers agency reports the contract is for two years.

Reynolds landed in Detroit after requesting his release from the Tennessee Titans. After a career showing for the Los Angeles Rams, he signed with the Titans for a significant role on a contending team. But then the Titans added Julio Jones to their receiver room. Reynolds didnt see many chances behind A.J. Brown and Jones in the Derrick Henry-centric attack. He eventually found the opportunity he was looking for with the Lions. His new deal is reportedly worth up to $12 million. Not too shabby for someone who signed a one-year deal worth $1.75 million in Tennessee this time last year.

He was honest after landing with the team, too. Reynolds said he was looking for chances to prove his ability and that if he were looking to join a winning team, he wouldnt have left Tennessee. The lanky receiver helped breathe life into Detroits passing attack. He gave quarterback Jared Goff a familiar face, not to mention height downfield. In seven games, Reynolds caught 19 balls on 36 targets for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 8.5 yards per target, with 15 of his 19 catches moving the chains.

Id love to stick around, man, Reynolds said after the season. Going with Tennessee and stuff, it was just unfortunate kinda circumstances that happened with me or at the beginning of the season with some injuries and stuff that kinda held me back and guys doing their thing being able to go out and produce. It was a tough situation, but you know, just talking with family and my agent and stuff and God -- Im in the right spot.

Id love to be back with this team. Love the guys. Love the coaches. Love the front office. Its definitely where Id like to be.

The Lions havent been shy in their intentions to add to their receiver room. Receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said he wants to see two additions through the draft and one through free agency. Reynolds should be happy to be back, and he checks one box heading into free agency around these parts.

New offensive coordinator Ben Johnson recently detailed his vision for the teams offense while at the NFL combine. That vision? It needs a go-to, playmaking wide receiver to make it happen.

Its the one thing we looked at over the course of the last few weeks in our self-scout (that we were really missing), Johnson said during a chat with a small group of reporters on Tuesday at the combine. We feel like we attack the middle of the field very well. So the more we can expand both vertically and horizontally outside the numbers, and deep down the field, thats just going to make the guys on the inside of the field that much more dangerous.

Reynolds helps some of that at 6-foot-3, without question. Still, there is work to be done in that department. He caught 52 passes for 618 yards and two scores in his last full season with Goff in Los Angeles. The pair flashed some of that chemistry in Detroit, with this reunion making sense for all parties. The 27-year-old worked well with Amon-Ra St. Brown, stretching defenses over the middle, creating some space for the talented rookie.

Free agency opens in the coming weeks, and the draft is around the corner after that. Thanks to the franchise tag, the receiver free-agent market seems to shrink by the minute. The Lions could be in a good spot come April, though, with Picks 32 and 34 looking ripe for a receiver.

But I think the definition of it really is, as you said, a guy who can consistently win one-on-one, Johnson said. Whether thats a big guy, with a lot of strength and size, or whether thats a guy with elite quickness or speed. I think it comes a number of different ways. But thats what were looking for, is someone that outside the numbers predominantly, can win a one-on-one. And if hes good at his job, dictates coverage. So they recognize where he is at all times and start rolling (coverage) his way, which will open us up for the run game and everything else inside ... Thats really what we want.

Related: Detroit Lions free agency preview: Allen Robinson headlines a receiver class that is thinning out

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Detroit Lions sign wide receiver Josh Reynolds to 2-year contract extension - MLive.com