Geronimo Allison had to wait a bit to find a new team, but he didn’t have to go too far to find it.
The former Packers wide receiver has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions, the team announced. Allison is set to earn $910,000 with a $137,500 signing bonus, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
The later signing is indicative of what has been a rough market for wide receivers, who aren’t in particular demand this offseason because of what’s viewed as a historically deep draft class at the position.
Allison, moreover, isn’t coming off the best of seasons. Despite increased opportunity in Green Bay, the fifth-year wideout caught just 34 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns in 2019. Just a year earlier, he got off to a fast start before a concussion and groin injury forced him to miss 11 games.
The 6-foot-3 target joins an underrated Lions receiving corps, headed by Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola, who re-signed last month. Detroit has agreed to pay Allison the maximum amount for the veteran’s minimum as he tries to re-establish himself within a familiar NFC North.
After going undrafted in 2016, Allison caught 89 passes for 1,045 yards and six touchdowns over four seasons with the Packers, mostly as a reserve.
Elsewhere in transactional news Sunday:
ยป Cornerback Ronald Darby is also moving on but remaining in the same division. The former Eagles cornerback has agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Redskins worth $3 million, per Rapoport. He added that Darby’s contract has a max value of $4 million.
Darby is ranked No. 61 on NFL.cm’s Top 101 free agents of 2020. The talented sixth-year DB, who played with the Bills his first two seasons, missed 20 games over the last three years in Philadelphia, including half the 2018 season because of a torn ACL. Darby played and started in 11 games in 2019, and accumulated 37 tackles, 11 passes defended and two interceptions.