Part 4 of the Lions roster series focuses on the third tight end. Detroit has several options for the third tight end on the roster. Matthew Mullgian, rookie Cole Wick, rookie Adam Fuehne and rookie Ben McCord could be Detroit’s third tight end on the roster in September. Receiving tight end Tim Wright tore his ACL in OTAs and may have been Detroit’s third tight end. He had 77 yards and 2 TDs in 2015.
Matthew Mulligan
Mulligan (31 years old) is a 7 year veteran who has played for several teams (Jets, Patriots, Rams, Bills). He is strictly a good blocking tight end and offers little to no value in receiving. If Detroit wants only a blocker as the third tight end, they’ll keep Mulligan.
Undrafted Rookies
Cole Wick is a tight end that can block and has some receiving skill. He is from a very small school called the Incarnate Word. Wick received the largest signing bonus of 10,000 of the Lions undrafted free agents. He is 6’5 and 256.
Adam Fuehne is from Southern Illinois and is 6’7 and 255 pounds. He is very tall and has solid receiving skills. He is in the mold of former Lions and dog owner Joseph Fauria.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/adam-fuehne?id=2556225
Ben McCord was just signed after the Tim Wright injury. He had a productive senior season for CMU.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/2574431/type/college/ben-mccord
Summary
The Lions third tight end will be crucial since Brandon Pettigrew is recovering from a torn ACL. Detroit may keep two of these tight ends if Pettigrew begins the season on the PUP list.