Breshad Perriman had the best season of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, when he got the one thing he should have plenty of in Detroit: opportunity.
Perriman, a first-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, played most of his one season in Tampa as the team’s No. 3 receiver.
But when Mike Evans and Chris Godwin missed time with injuries late in the year, Perriman moved up the depth chart and produced for the first time like many thought he would coming out of Central Florida.
He had what was then a career-high 87 yards receiving in an early December win over Jacksonville, and after following that up with a 70-yard performance the next week against the Indianapolis Colts, closed the year with three straight 100-yard games.
“He just kept showing up,” said Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, an offensive assistant with the Bucs in 2019. “And when I say show up, I mean (when) it’s time to make a play. At that time, he was our third wide receiver behind Chris and Mike in Tampa, and he just kept showing up like, we got to try and find ways to get him the ball because he kept showing up. Wide open here, wide open there. So that’s what we kept doing.”