Lions Cut Ties With 6-Foot-6 Rookie Tight End After Minicamp

 
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The Detroit Lions did snag NFL stars Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby by trade, but they still have an option left.
The Detroit Lions filled holes in free agency and added young talent in the NFL draft, and now they’re doing the nitty gritty work of getting the bottom of the roster ready for the coming training camp.

The team announced this week that free agent rookie tight end Caden Prieskorn had been waived, just weeks after the team signed him. The Lions in turn added a trio of players after rookie minicamp, preparing the 90-man roster that will start the preseason.

 
Lions Part Ways With Promising Caden Prieskorn
Prieskorn’s release came as a bit of a surprise given the praise he had earned prior to the NFL draft. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy named him as one of the most likely undrafted free agents to make the roster, noting that his publication had originally given him a seventh-round draft grade.

But Prieskorn came in at an advanced age for a rookie, which could have factored into the team’s decision to part ways with him before training camp starts in the summer.

“He’s a big-bodied tight end at 6-foot-6, 246 pounds and comes equipped with strong hands and an ability to box out defenders,” Pouncy wrote. “He does lack athleticism, though, and is an older prospect at 25 (will turn 26 in September), which explains why he went undrafted.”

The Lions found a great talent in tight end Sam LaPorta, who has made 146 receptions and 1,615 yards with 17 touchdowns through his first two NFL seasons. But the team has a need for some depth behind LaPorta, with some competition expected below him on the depth chart.

 
Lions Add More Talent
As Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit noted, the team added three new players after they impressed at rookie minicamp earlier in the month.

“Tight end Luke Deal, wide receiver Malik Taylor, and defensive lineman Raequan Williams are all now officially part of the team,” Reisman wrote, adding that Prieskorn was waived to help make room for the new additions.

Though many of the players added this time of year will end up being extra bodies for training camp and released when the team whittles down to its final 53-man roster, Reisman noted that there is some talent in the bunch.

Reisman added that Taylor has kicked around the NFL for the last five years, making 28 career appearances and recording nine receptions for 93 yards with one touchdown. He also played significant time on special teams.

Williams has also been in the NFL since 2020, appearing in seven games for three teams.

Deal, the youngest of the bunch, also comes with a strong track record of past success, Reisman wrote.

“Deal, a 2025 rookie, had spent the last six years at Auburn University, playing a program-record 64 games with the Tigers,” Reisman wrote. “Serving as the captain in both 2023 and 2024, Deal’s primary role in college was as a blocker. At 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, he quickly becomes the biggest tight end on the roster. Last year in college, he earned a 79.5 pass blocking grade, good for seventh-best in the country.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty