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TE Devin Funchess Leaves Joint Practice Early

Detroit Lions tight end Devin Funchess appeared in a lot of pain when he left practice, according to reports.

John Maakaron

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The Detroit Lions just wrapped up a 90-minute joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts. 

Unfortunately, a member of the Lions' roster left practice early. 

Tight end Devin Funchess, who had seen first-team reps with the offense this week for the first time in training camp, reportedly left the field in a lot of pain. 

The veteran had started to impress his teammates in practice, as well as via his performance against the Falcons. He secured a healthy dose of red-zone targets against Atlanta, while also hurdling defenders and providing steady production in practice. 

“He’s getting more comfortable every day,” Lions tight ends coach Tanner Engstrand explained to reporters. “It’s good to see him have a little bit of production, because really as you mentioned, he hadn’t had a lot of targets and maybe production in camp thus far, as he’s getting accustomed to feeling it out in the box instead of spread out wide.

"It was really good to see him do that. Get down in the red zone. I mean, he can jump out of this room. And, he’s tall and athletic and long. So, that was awesome to see him make that play down in the red zone.”

Funchess has been in a battle with Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra for a spot on the roster. 

Earlier this week, the team released tights ends Nolan Givan and Garrett Griffin, giving the veteran added hope he could actually make the Lions' roster in 2022. 

Rookie James Mitchell is also expected to make a push to land a spot on the 53-man roster. 

Funchess returned to the Lions after being away from the game for a period of time. 

He previously had stints with the 49ers, the Packers, the Colts and the Panthers. 

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

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