The Lions released former first-round pick Joshua Garnett on Sunday morning, per a club announcement. The Lions also dropped defensive back Michael Jackson, linebacker Christian Sam, defensive end Jonathan Wynn, and wide receivers Travis Fulgham and Chris Lacy to reach the 80-man limit for single squad practices.
The 49ers took Garnett No. 28 overall in 2016, but he never lived up to his pre-draft hype. The Stanford product started in 11 of his 15 games as a rookie, but failed to impress. Then, knee surgery wiped out his 2017 season and he played in just seven games as a reserve in 2018. The Niners cut him before 2019, and his ensuing workout tour didn’t result in a contract. The Lions picked Garnett up in February, but they’ve put him back on the free agent pile as the season draws near.
The Lions’ O-line was not particularly good at run-blocking or pass protection in 2019 and earned below-average DVOA marks in both categories. On the plus side, Russell Bodine was Detroit’s only offensive line opt-out, so they might be able to stand pat with their current group of linemen.
Another fine Trent Baalke pick floundering. What a surprise
I don’t know if there was much pre-draft hype here. If I recall correctly, Garnett was regarded as a head scratcher and major reach for a team with bigger holes. More of like Peat (who was also regarded as a reach and is still drawing differing opinions on his play), and less like Joeckel (who was regarded highly and then disappointed).