The Lions have agreed to sign wide receiver Andre Roberts, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known. 
[RELATED: Anquan Boldin Visiting Lions]
The 28-year-old visited the Lions and Saints in the past week, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. He also visited the Bills last month, though his other stops did not result in any deals. The Lions, Caplan tweets, see Roberts as a player with the ability to play both slot and outside in their offense. He’s also capable of returning punts and kicks. The Lions are looking to build depth at wide receiver after Corey Fuller suffered a broken foot.
Roberts has been on the open market ever since he was released by the Redskins back in May. The wide receiver arrived in Washington when he inked four-year, $16MM contract with Washington in 2014 with the expectation that he would serve as the team’s No. 2 receiver next to Pierre Garcon. Soon after, however, DeSean Jackson unexpectedly became available and Washington swooped in to make him a focal point of their offense. Upon being relegated to the No. 3 WR role, Roberts expressed frustration, but his slide did not stop there.
Last season, Roberts appeared in 9 games (zero starts) and caught a career-low 11 passes for 135 yards. Roberts first made a name for himself in 2012 when he stepped out of Larry Fitzgerald‘s shadow in Arizona to haul in 64 catches for 759 yards and five touchdowns. In every year since, he has seen his targets, receptions, and yards decline.
Interestingly, news of a deal between the Lions and Roberts comes on the heels of Anquan Boldin visiting the team. It’s not immediately clear whether Boldin still fits into the equation for Detroit. If so, there could be a notable name or two displaced.
Recently, PFR’s own Dallas Robinson identified the Lions as a possible fit for Roberts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.