Lions add TE Khari Lee, place Jon Bostic on IR

After the Detroit Lions placed linebacker Josh Bynes on the injured reserve list on Sunday, it appeared Jon Bostic was going to avoid the list and could potentially return sooner than expected. However, just two days later, the Lions officially placed Bostic on the list. With this designation, Bostic will be sidelined for at least the first six weeks — and maybe more — of the 2016 season.

Bostic suffered a leg injury in joint practices with the Pittsburgh Steelers in early August. A few weeks later, Jim Caldwell announced Bostic had undergone surgery. ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported that the surgery was on the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot and that his recovery time would be 6-12 weeks.

In his spot, the Lions claimed tight end Khari Lee, who was waived by the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Lee, 24, went undrafted in 2015 before getting scooped up by the Houston Texans. Lee had a somewhat successful preseason for the Texans but was traded to the Bears before the regular season began. Lee appeared in all 16 games last year with Chicago and even started in seven of them. He only managed one reception for 7 yards the entire season, but according to the Chicago Sun Times, Lee played 11.8 percent of the offensive snaps, and was mostly utilized as a blocker. He also has special teams experience.

The Lions have been trying to figure out their tight end situation for the past few weeks. Eric Ebron’s status, though increasingly promising, is still unknown for Week 1. Meanwhile, Brandon Pettigrew remains on the PUP and Andrew Quarless is serving his two-game suspension. The Lions recently signed TE Brian Leonhardt to their practice squad, but with Lee part of the 53-man roster, he has a chance to appear on game day over the likes of more receiving-oriented options like Cole Wick or Orson Charles.