Less than a day after officially releasing tight end Jesse James, the Detroit Lions turned around and signed his replacement in tight end Josh Hill.
James was signed early in the 2019 free agency period by then-general manager Bob Quinn and was expected to hold down the position while rookie T.J. Hockenson acclimated to the NFL. Unfortunately for James, it didn’t take long for Hockenson to pass him on the depth chart and he was demoted into a reserve role, seeing the field less than half the offensive snaps.
Two years after signing his deal, with a new front office and coaching staff in Detroit, James’ production and role didn’t match up with his contract—he was due to count $6.