Report: Lions host WR Anquan Boldin, sign WR Andre Roberts

It has been a tough few days for Detroit Lions receivers. Last Wednesday, Corey Fuller had surgery on his foot. A few days later the Lions waived Corey Washington due to an undisclosed injury. With Detroit a bit shorthanded at receiver, the Lions decided to take a look at a new receiver for the roster. According to Adam Schefter, former Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin was in Detroit Monday meeting with the Lions.

Boldin to Detroit makes a lot of sense. Putting the Lions’ significant need for a camp body aside for the moment, Boldin obviously has a history with head coach Jim Caldwell. In 2012, Caldwell was promoted to the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator while Boldin was still on the team. That season, Boldin caught 65 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns.

While Boldin does make a lot of sense, he also comes with a pretty big buyers beware tag. He turns 36 years old this season, and in 2015 he had his least productive year since 2004.

Still, there’s little harm in bringing Boldin in and giving him a chance to prove himself worthy of a roster spot. Despite his decreased production, Boldin has still received over 750 yards in every year but one. In the last four seasons, he’s had at least 65 catches and four touchdowns in each year.

In addition to bringing in Boldin, the Lions actually made a signing at the receiver position, adding former Arizona Cardinals third-round draft pick Andre Roberts, per Ian Rapoport:

Roberts was most recently with Washington on a four-year contract, but he was cut earlier this offseason after just two seasons with the team.

Roberts is a slot receiver type, who has had solid, but limited production in his career.

Although Roberts had a significant dive in production last season, he did show some value on special teams, taking one of his seven kick returns for a 99-yard touchdown. In his career, he has returned 53 kickoffs for an average of 24.5 yards per return. He has also returned punts on occasion during his career.

Roberts could definitely compete for a spot on the Lions' roster. Detroit's No. 3 receiver position is a wide open contest between TJ Jones, Jeremy Kerley and Fuller, among others. Roberts has more experience than all of those options, but the decline in production is troubling.

UPDATE: Roberts appears to have confirmed the signing on Twitter Monday morning:

#detriot # s

— Andre' Roberts (@AndreRoberts) June 13, 2016