Lions OC Darrell Bevell ‘surprised’ by WR Travis Fulgham’s success with Eagles

Travis Fulgham was far from a surprise cut this offseason when the Detroit Lions whittled their roster down to 53 players. Though the Lions spent a sixth-round pick on Fulgham in 2019, he spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad before playing in three games late in the season and not tallying a reception.

But Fulgham has caught fire after landing with the Philadelphia Eagles following a short stint in Green Bay. In two games with Philly, Fulgham has already pulled in 12 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns—ironically outgaining any Lions receiver thus far through 2020.

Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell admitted he has been surprised by Fulgham’s success with the Eagles.

“A little bit surprised,” Bevell said on Monday. “I think it’s the third team he’s been on. Travis did okay while he was here. I don’t want to get into all the reasons behind what happened (here), but I’m happy for his success, for sure.”

The Lions actually let Fulgham go prior to Detroit’s training camp practices, but, again, it wasn’t viewed as that surprising of a move. He was a long shot to make the roster behind the Lions’ three starting wide receiver—Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., and Danny Amendola—and with the additions of fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus and the position change from Jamal Agnew, the wide receiver room was too crowded for Fulgham to have a realistic shot.

Fulgham, too, couldn’t find a place on the Packers’ roster, despite there being a much bigger opportunity in Green Bay. The Packers’ competition at wide receiver was far more open, yet they decided to cut Fulgham loose prior to the start of the season.

But for whatever reason, Fulgham has immediately caught on with the Eagles. He scored the go-ahead touchdown late in Week 4’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the 49ers, and followed it up with 10 catches and 152 yards on Sunday against the Steelers.

“The thing with Travis is that he did have a large catching radius,” Lions wide receiver coach Robert Prince said this week. “That was one of the things that we liked about him. Obviously, there’s something that Philly liked about him, so we’ll move on.”

It’s hard to truly blame the Lions for the decision they made with Fulgham, and who knows how long his success with the Eagles lasts? Still, Lions coaches were almost dismissive of his success thus far, even though both Prince and Bevell admitted they were happy for him.