Reports out of Allen Park today are that injured Tight End Brandon Pettigrew no longer has a locker at the Detroit Lions facility and the team is reportedly moving on from the former 20th overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Detroit Lions clear out Brandon Pettigrew's locker, moving on from TE https://t.co/PH54DwQq7P via @freep
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) December 8, 2016
Jim Caldwell on why Brandon Pettigrew landed on NFI: "It was best for us." … Declined to say what injury Pettigrew sustained off field
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) December 7, 2016
Pettigrew, 31, has not appeared in a game this season after tearing the ACL on December 13th, 2015 in a game against the then St. Louis Rams. He was left on the Physically Unable to Preform list to begin the 2016 season, which allowed the Detroit Lions to stash him off the active roster for the first eight to ten weeks while he continued to recover. After the stint on the list was over, the Detroit Lions exercised their ability to evaluate him for 21-days and after that, decided to place him on the Non-Football Injury list.
That transition to the NFI list raised some eyebrows, considering the all the reports earlier in the week hinting that he was close to returning. I can only speculate, but if I was a betting man, Detroit Lions General Manager Bob Quinn told Pettigrew that they were choosing not to activate him, Pettigrew wasn’t to happy with that, and they decided to release him instead of keeping him around.
Pettigrew appeared in 93 career games for the Detroit Lions, making 85 starts. He will finish his Lions career with 301 receptions for 2,965 yards and 17 touchdowns. That’s assuming the Lions don’t Joique Bell him and re-sign him at some point next season when they’re in need of a tight end with butter fingers.
The #Lions are FINALLY releasing Brandon Pettigrew. It's fitting that his two lasting DET memories are balls he didn't catch. pic.twitter.com/Mcdf6oG15T
— Jay Scott Smith (@JayScottSmith) December 8, 2016
Pettigrew likely isn’t done as an NFL player. He still has a lot of value as a minimum salary blocking Tight End. He just isn’t worth $4.0 million a year to back up Eric Ebron. Best of luck to him in whatever is next.