Report: Detroit Lions tender ERFA RB Craig Reynolds

The Detroit Lions are reportedly tendering running back Craig Reynolds, who held a contributing role the last few seasons with the team.

According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Detroit Lions have applied an exclusive right tender to running back Craig Reynolds.

An exclusive rights tender almost assures Reynolds will return to the Lions roster this season, as his only other option is to not play in the NFL this season because he can not negotiate with other teams. His contract will likely be a one-year, league-minimum deal ($985,000 for his level of NFL experience) unless the Lions opt to offer him a contract extension.

Reynolds has held the Lions’ third running back role for the last few seasons, after signing with the team in 2021. Reynold began his career on the Lions practice squad but burst onto the scene halfway through his first season with the team and never looked back. While Reynolds has faced competition for his role every step of the way, his reliability has kept him on the active roster in contributing roles—on both offense and special teams—and he even scored a touchdown in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs.

Reynolds’ consistency will likely put him back in the RB3 role—behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery—to enter the offseason, but he will face competition from recently re-signed Zonovan Knight, former seventh-round pick Jermar Jefferson, and late-season acquisition Jake Funk.

With all six of the Lions’ running backs returning to the roster, this puts adding another running back as a low-priority on the offseason shopping list.

To see which Lions are currently under contract at each position, check out our contract tracker. And to see the status of every Lions free agent and all of Detroit’s roster moves, check out our 2024 Detroit Lions offseason tracker.