Theo Riddick was surprisingly cut by the Lions earlier today, and he isn’t wasting any time searching for a new home. The veteran running back will take his first visit with the Saints, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Lions drafted Riddick in the sixth round back in 2013, and he’d been with them ever since. Riddick has always operated primarily as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, and he often shined in that role with Detroit. In each of the past four seasons, he eclipsed 50 receptions, and he was a nice safety blanket for Matthew Stafford. Riddick had been set to enter the final year of a three-year, $11.5MM extension he signed in 2016. Last year he had 40 carries for 171 yards and 61 receptions for 384 yards. His best year was in 2015, when he had 80 receptions for 697 yards.
There were some inklings that the Lions might move on, so he likely wasn’t caught too off-guard. The Lions signed C.J. Anderson this offseason, and also wanted to give promising second-year player Kerryon Johnson more playing time. The Saints aren’t going to be the only team interested in Riddick, but they’ll have the chance to sign him first. Still only 28 and never used too much as a runner, he should have plenty left in the tank physically
New Orleans’ interest is intriguing since they already have Alvin Kamara as an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield. The Saints did lose Mark Ingram this offseason but his style of play isn’t at all similar to Riddick’s, and they also signed Latavius Murray to backup Kamara. Still, the Saints struggled for consistent receiving options behind Michael Thomas and Kamara last year, and Sean Payton can never have too many weapons. We’ll keep you posted as we hear anything else.
The Chronicles of Riddick continues
Honestly think he could be surpass Murray in touches this year if he signs with the saints
agreed, this sounds like a good fit.
Yeah, I think the Saints boo booed when they let Ingram go as the complement to A. Kamara. If they would of saved more money, it (swapping Ingram for L. Murray)would of have some merit. But they overpaid for Murray. So maybe this will solidify that position in full, and give Peyton what he needs in a short asking game. He is definitely going to need to spread the field width wise this year because Brees lost a touch at the end of last year. Safeties May play down a bit and this will help keep the D stretched. A strong running game will go a long way as well.
Payton is such a good coach he could make amazing packages with Riddick and Kamara which the Lions failed to do with Kerryon and Abdullah.
The Lions didn’t fail to do it. Abdullah is just a bust. They utilized Riddick just fine with Johnson last season. In fact, he’s had no less than 53 receptions the last four seasons. This move shows me the Lions think rookie Ty Johnson is ready to contribute this year so Riddick became expendable.
Sorry but you obviously didn’t watch any games. He wasn’t used properly as he was when they first realized how good he was out of the backfield. How many times did you see them both on the field at the same time to create a mismatch? How many times were they predictable?