Lions add TE Thomas Gordon on Futures Contract

The Detroit Lions announced on X that they have added a new TE to the room in Thomas Gordon. Formerly of the Chicago Bears, Gordon (UDFA out of Northwestern) signed in early August but was released on 8/24/25, a few days before final cuts. The Bears re-signed to their Practice Squad on 12/24 when they lost another TE to IR. Gordon was never elevated and did not record a snap or stats last year.

The addition of Gordon brings the Lions to four TEs on the roster currently, but both Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright ended the season on IR, and Zach Horton and Thomas Gordon were signed to futures deals, only guaranteeing them a spot on the off-season 90-man roster. He brings some intriguing size at 6'5 and a reported 255, but he wasn't much of a pass catcher at Northwestern although he did manage 54 catches for 529 yards and 2 TDs in 54 career games over his five seasons in Evanston. Also, looking at his Relative Athletic Score and against the average NFL TE, he is definitely not in the mold of the athletic player that Brad Holmes usually likes to bring in.

Courtesy of Ras

Courtesy of Ras

One positive is that he has been exposed to ben Johnson's offensive system, so he should be able to adapt quickly to the Lions base offense framework, which share considerable synergies. At this point though, it's hard to get excited about him being anything more than a camp body.