The Detroit Lions have met with another free agent tight end, and it isn’t the newly-released Marcedes Lewis. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Lions hosted former Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo for a visit:
A day after Eric Ebron signs in Indy, the #Lions host former #Falcons TE Levine Toilolo for a visit, source said. Expect them to sign one veteran at this position.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2018
Toilolo breaks the mold of some of the more recent tight end visits, in that he’s only 26 years old. A former fourth-round pick by the Falcons, Toilolo has spent the majority of his five-year career as the Falcons’ backup tight end. His play was good enough to earn him a three-year, $12 million extension last offseason, but Atlanta cut him loose just a few weeks ago to save $3.5 million in cap space (with a June 1 designation).
The young tight end brings some, but not much, talent as a receiver. In five years, he caught 74 passes for 723 yards and seven touchdowns in Atlanta. His most productive receiving year was 2014, when he caught 31 passes for 238 yards and two scores.
Instead, Toilolo can bring some punch to the running game. Here’s what our friends at The Falcoholic said when Toilolo was cut earlier in the month—a move that surprised them:
A fourth round draft pick under Mike Smith back in 2013, Toilolo joined as a promising blocker and red zone threat due to his height, but he never really developed into more than an occasionally useful pass catching threat. He did become one of the team’s better blocking tight ends, however, and had carved out a significant niche in the offense as the team’s second tight end in that role.
Toilolo joins the following tight ends who have visited the Lions this offseason: Brent Celek, Luke Willson and Logan Paulsen. All three remain available in free agency.