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With the tight start of TJ Hockenson (knee) marked questionable to play against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, the Detroit Lions upped the roster on Saturday, promoting tight end Shane Zylstra in the active alignment.
Hockenson missed training on Wednesday but returned to limited training on Thursday and Friday, and even spoke to the media, which is usually a strong indicator that he is likely to play on Sunday.
“We’ll see where (the knee) is on Sunday and from there,” Hockenson said. “It’s like that. You never play this game 100%, so that’s one of those things.
With Hockenson’s knee likely due to be medically cleaned before Sunday’s game and with Darren Fells the only other tight member on the active roster, the Lions appear to be relying on Zylstra for insurance.
Zylstra, Carolina Panthers’ younger brother TE Brandon Zylstra, played his college football in the state of Minnesota, where he was a record wide receiver. He was not drafted in 2020 and like most UDFAs during the peak COVID-19 season, he failed to hang on to any NFL team. In 2021, he tried out with the Vikings – ironically the Lions’ opponent this week – as a converted tight end, and got a training camp contract. He was released during the cuts, but instead of signing for the Vikings’ training squad, he opted for Detroit.
At 6-foot-5, 237 pounds (up from 215 during his college days), Zylstra is primarily a TE-F and if Hockenson is unable to play he will likely take on his pass-catching duties in the lunge. Because he wasn’t with the Lions during training camp, we didn’t see Zylstra’s blocking abilities, but the fact that he converted to a tight end just in the last offseason. , it’s fair to think the Lions would rely more on Fells and FB Jason Cabinda in blocking situations.
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