It’s early. There are always guys who flash during training camp, then wash out during games. Miles Macik, DeMario Ballard, and Patrick Edwards are three who come to mind.
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First off… thanks for posting all these articles. It is really appreciated to not have to search the interwebs for content.
That said… about this article…
LOL… there are years when we hear about rando UDFAs being the darlings of training camp, and then never hear from them again.
And now… Teslaa is a bum after 5 reps.
I know… they need clicks.
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Whelp, that does it, let the 18th era of Tom Kennedy begin!
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Candidate for the Andre Fluellen Hall of Fame.
| Rank | Player | Why they’re on the list |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Fluellen | The all-time boomerang. Signed or re-signed by Detroit around 8–9 different times from 2008–15 after numerous releases. |
| 2 | Dan Skipper | Modern king of roster churn. Waived, released, practice squad, active roster, reserve/future deals—you almost lose count. |
| 3 | Aveion Cason | Especially remarkable in 2007, when he was cut and re-signed repeatedly over just a few weeks. |
| 4 | Tom Kennedy | Six-plus seasons of bouncing between the active roster and practice squad. |
| 5 | Anthony Pittman | A Dan Campbell favorite who repeatedly returned after being released. |
| 6 | Craig Reynolds | Multiple releases, practice squad returns, and promotions before sticking. |
| 7 | Michael Badgley | The Lions repeatedly brought him back whenever the kicking situation changed. |
| 8 | Maurice Alexander | Several practice squad and active roster cycles. |
| 9 | Trevor Nowaske | Claimed, waived, re-signed, and retained through several roster shuffles. |
| 10 | Chris Smith (DL) | Constantly moving between the practice squad and active roster during 2023–25. |
One interesting difference is that Fluellen and Cason were repeatedly brought back to the 53-man roster, whereas many recent examples (Kennedy, Pittman, Reynolds, Skipper) have also accumulated lots of transactions because of the practice squad rules introduced and expanded in recent CBAs. Comparing raw transaction counts across eras isn’t quite apples-to-apples because today’s practice squad rules create far more roster movement.
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I miss netflix.
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On this issue…I would just like to point out its AUGUST 4TH
As an old man In all my old man years watching football I learned that nothing, absolutely nothing means nothing until the regular season. And more specifically, after maybe week 5.
So, if Coleslaw sucks now it means he’ll be great by week 6.
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Wild. In my head Tom Kennedy goes all the way back to 2013
I guess because of Chris Durham who was, of course, an earlier iteration of Tom Kennedy
And before that it was furrey who was honestly the best iteration of “white guy” wr we have had in the last 30 years. Much better than the kirkus, toone, etc of the world.
Though Toone with the dreadlocks was something
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Yes, TeSlaa not killing it early is no big deal.
AND, with the reference to “contested” catches, I wonder if he continues to struggle with getting separation. I trust that he’ll get back to winning his fair share of contested catches, but would like to see him get to a pace where fewer of his catches are contested in the first place.
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I’m gonna let Furry out of this group.
He did more that rotate through being cut, practice squad, roster, repeat
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Agree:
I have a life sized Aveon Cason fathead stuck to the ceiling above my bed that watches me as I sleep and greets me in the morning…maybe that’s my “problem” 
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That’s not why you put him up there. 
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Tom Kennedy is definitely our current Andre fluellen - he’s been called up and sent down a handful of times now hasn’t he?
As far as TeSlaa, this is just one player that makes less and less sense to me and why we took him as time goes on. I feel like at the time we needed someone to maybe push Jamo, or a bigger stronger contested catch version of Jamo? But then Jamo solidified his role, and this kinda relegated TeSlaa to maybe the 3b/4th option if everyone is healthy.
I like his potential, I can see the vision, but all things considered I just think he has an uphill battle to be a legit impact player on offense
Man just imagine if he had got to play w Tom Brady & Belichek
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There’s still time for TeSlaa to develop. He’s got the raw RAS score athleticism, incredible hands, great size, work ethic, etc. The intriguing part of the story has to do with Brad’s mindset leading up to the 2025 draft. In an interview on ESPN’s This Is Football podcast, Holmes was asked which scouting report he most wishes he could redo. Without hesitation, he answered Puka Nacua. He admitted that Nacua is the player he thinks about the most and said he regularly brings him up internally as a lesson for the scouting department.
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Holmes acknowledged that the Lions had evaluated Nacua, but they underestimated him. He has described it as one of his biggest scouting regrets because he didn’t fully recognize what Nacua would become.
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Holmes has since said he had Nacua rated very highly, suggesting his appreciation of that style of receiver may have carried forward into later drafts.
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Perhaps the scouting department talked Holmes out of his “very high rating” and pushed Nacua down their collaborative board. Difficult to answer, but possible.
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It’s not out of the question to infer that Brad, not wanting to suffer the same fate this time around in 2025 on a WR he had highly rated, packaged multiple 3rd round picks and aggressively went up to get TeSlaa.
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The conjecture in certain circles at least was that Brad had his eye on Puka Nacua before he was sniped by the Rams. Seeing how that turned out, if Brad was convinced TeSlaa’s upside was similar, you can understand why he was so aggressive. It doesn’t mean Isaac is going to become an All Pro, but I think we will have a better picture of what he can be by the end of this coming season. It took Jamo a while to begin to get looks from Goff too. There are so many options in this offense. If TeSlaa’s got “it”, he will begin to flash and take over certain games/matchups this year.
Stay tuned
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That is all a very good breakdown and I recall reading that at some point is well, thank you for posting it.
I agree, he still has plenty of time, it’s only his second year and I do think he has a great skill set.
I question more of how he fits in the offense and where his opportunities come from when the ball is going to st brown, Gibbs, Jamo, or laporta first. Last season we had Raymond and now Dortch who’s going to fill that shifty slot guy, so I just don’t know where he gets in. Of course, if you’re good you make your own opportunity and force the team’s hand to give you more touches, and he can do that.
In regards to Nacua, the dude may or may not be a bit of a head case so I don’t know that’s a miss as of now! But strictly skill and evaluation wise, yes maybe they moved him down despite Holmes really liking him, but that doesn’t mean he can overcompensate the next time around and overvalue a guy for fear of missing on him again, if that makes sense.
Just my perspective, we will see how it progresses and shakes out.
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