After Abysmal Season, Allison Signs with Lions

Geronimo Allison dropped the ball amid a season filled with high expectations.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The makeover of the Green Bay Packers’ receiver corps continued when the Detroit Lions announced the signing of Geronimo Allison.

That Green Bay allowed Allison to go to a division rival with a one-year, minimum contract was hardly a surprise, given Allison’s woeful season and the team’s signing of Devin Funchess to a one-year, $2.5 million contract that could be worth as much as $6.25 million.

With a long-term contract on the line in 2019, Allison went bust. He caught 34-of-55 passes (61.9 percent) for just 287 yards. Of 79 receivers to be targeted 50 times, Allison ranked 78th with 0.68 yards per pass route, 78th with 8.4 yards per catch and 73rd in drop rate at 12.8 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. He dropped five passes, fumbled twice and broke just one tackle. At least he blocked, which is why he ranked second on the unit with 638 snaps, though that was hardly worth $2.5 million.

The Packers had high hopes for Allison, a 6-foot-3 receiver with position versatility and the ability to make acrobatic catches. As a restricted free agent last offseason, Allison and the Packers met in the middle between the original-round and second-round tenders. Then, in the draft, Green Bay didn’t draft a single receiver.

In essence, Green Bay bet on Allison’s hot start to 2018. In the first four games o that season, Allison recorded 19 receptions for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Extrapolate that over the 16-game season, and he was on pace for 76 receptions, 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch and caught 66.7 percent of targeted passes. However, a core-muscle injury limited him to five games and required season-ending surgery.

Nothing Allison did in 2018 transferred to 2019. Yet, he kept playing. He played at least 40 percent of the snaps in all 16 games, including at least half of the snaps in 11 games. He did have a key third-down catch in the playoff win vs. Seattle. In five career games against the Lions, he caught 12 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown. He grabbed six passes for 57 yards in the games last season.

Because of the snap count, he had set a career high in catches. In four seasons, the former undrafted free agent caught 89 passes for 1,045 yards and six touchdowns.