Detroit Lions didn’t wait long to start their offseason business. The team announced on Tuesday that they had signed guard Joshua Garnett to a contract.
Garnett will join the Lions after spending 2019 away from football.
After being 28th overall pick by San Francisco 49ers in 2016, Garnett showed promise in his rookie season by starting 11 games. He couldn’t build on his successful first year in the league, however, as he suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss the entire 2017.
Garnett returned in 2018, but failed to break into the first team and ended up playing seven games as a backup, totaling 59 offensive snaps and 16 special teams snaps. He was released by 49ers in August 2019 and remained a free agent ever since.
For Lions, acquiring Joshua Garnett is a low risk, high reward type of a move. The team’s offensive line might suffer some blows with several players becoming free agents, so Garnett can step in as a cover. Also, the team will hope that the 25-year-old could start living up to his potential that made him the first-round pick with the right guidance.
