I see that Andre Roberts has signed with Detroit. They’re hoping he can re-emerge into the up-and-comer he appeared to be a few years back in Arizona. But the chances of him making any kind of notable impact, I think, are slim.
On the plus side, as recently as two years ago, Washington signed Roberts thinking he was going to be a starter for them. They ended up later getting the unexpected opportunity to sign DeSean Jackson, and that bumped Roberts down into the No. 3 role. Last year he lost that role to rookie Jamison Crowder.
Roberts looks like a depth-type pickup. He says he’s been told he’ll be given an opportunity to compete as both an inside and outside receiver.
But the Lions are just fishing here, hoping to get a lucky by sparking a veteran with a change of scenario. They’re looking for depth behind starters Golden Tate and Marvin Jones. They have youngsters T.J. Jones and Corey Fuller, they’ve signed veteran Jeremy Kerley, and they’re supposedly still talking with Anquan Boldin.
Roberts has never quite gotten over the hump as an NFL player. In each of the last four years, for example, he’s caught under 58 percent of the passes thrown to him. And he’s never made many big catches downfield.
I’m not sure that he’ll even make Detroit’s roster, and he’s definitely not going to make any kind of significant impact.
| ANDRE ROBERTS, LAST FOUR YEARS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Tgt | No | Yards | Avg | TD | Pct |
| 2012 | Arizona | 114 | 64 | 759 | 11.9 | 5 | 56% |
| 2013 | Arizona | 76 | 43 | 471 | 11.0 | 2 | 57% |
| 2014 | Washington | 72 | 36 | 453 | 12.6 | 2 | 50% |
| 2015 | Washington | 21 | 11 | 135 | 12.3 | 0 | 52% |
—Ian Allan