Pros and Cons of Lions Claiming WR Hakeem Butler

Should Lions target former Bengals receiver?

Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Hakeem Butler (82) / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions, headed into their final game of the 2024 preseason, are still in the process of finalizing their 53-man roster.

The deadline for NFL franchises to cut their rosters down to 53 players is Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST.

The Lions, for starters, have yet to figure out who will be their fourth receiver to start the season.

While Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are clearly atop the team's wide receivers depth chart, no one has grabbed a hold of the No. 3 job.

Lions head man Dan Campbell has said that Kalif Raymond would be the team's No. 3 wideout if the season opened today. However, he'd rather keep the veteran wideout on a certain snap count so that he can focus some of his energy on his punt-returning duties.

“He is receiver three right now. I just, I think the idea has always been, we love Leaf as a returner, and Leaf brings a different skill set to the receiver position. He’s got a little gadgetry. He’s got some quickness underneath, and he’s a returner,” Campbell told reporters earlier this week. “To maximize both, boy, you’d love 20 plays a game, 25 plays a game. So, we’d rather not play him 65 plays a game, but we will if we have to. So, yeah, he’s receiver three right now, and that’s fine.”

Thus, the door is open for Campbell's squad to add a receiver before rosters are finalized.

Enter wideout Hakeem Butler, who was one of 11 players waived by the Cincinnati Bengals Friday afternoon. 

With his 6-foot-5, 227-pound frame, he clearly has the build to be an “X” receiver. Plus, the 2019 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals is coming off a solid campaign with the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024.

He led the UFL both in receiving yards (652) and yards per catch (14.5) during the regular season this past spring. Additionally, he amassed the fourth-most receptions (45) and tied for the second-most receiving touchdowns (five). Plus, he was one of only two receivers to record multiple 100-yard receiving games (147 and 134 yards).

And for his efforts, he was named the UFL Offensive Player of the Year.

If Butler were to clear waivers, he'd be a solid target for the receiver-needy Lions.  

Yet, since being drafted by the Cardinals in 2019, he has failed to latch on with an NFL team. He's been waived by four teams since (Arizona, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati), and has played in a total of just two NFL games (both games with the Eagles in 2020).

This could very well be a sign that Butler, despite his physical intangibles, doesn't quite have what it takes to play at the NFL level. And it could scare away the Lions and several other teams from giving the journeyman receiver a look.

At this present juncture, I don't believe that Butler will be the solution to Detroit's No. 3 receiver dilemma.