Lions sign TE Tim Wright, waive TE Brandon Barnes

On Tuesday, the Lions made a couple of transactions, signing cornerback Tramain Jacobs and wide receiver Dez Jacobs. Both moves appear to be of the flier variety considering the strong showing Detroit has gotten from both positions in training camp, but the team wasn’t done making moves.

On Wednesday, the team confirmed they brought back a familiar name in Tim Wright, a tight end who spent the 2015 season in Detroit.

Wright was acquired via a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the beginning of that 2015 season in exchange for placekicker—and a strong Name Bracket tournament candidate—Kyle Brindza. He appeared in nine games, starting in one of them, and finished the season with nine catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Before the start of 2016, Wright tore his ACL, which cost him the entire season, and left Detroit in a mad scramble to figure out a contingency plan at tight end for the position.

The Lions have been up to some interesting things in training camp, adding tight ends like Cole Wick to the backfield and having them line up at fullback. Wright’s familiarity with the Lions, and with general manager Bob Quinn back to his time with the Patriots in 2014, could make him a viable candidate to make the 53-man roster, even after joining this late in the offseason.

In a corresponding roster move, Detroit has waived tight end Brandon Barnes to make room for the incoming Wright.