In some ways, wide receiver Josh Reynolds has never recovered from the 2024 NFC championship game. Since his last game with the Detroit Lions, he’s started just five games. In 2025, he played just five contests because of a hip injury.
The New Orleans Saints, though, could potentially give Reynolds another shot in the league.
According to the NFL transaction wire, Reynolds tried out for the Saints on Tuesday. He was one of two veteran receivers to work out for New Orleans, the other being former second-round pick Chase Claypool.
Reynolds played more games for the Los Angeles Rams, but he hasn’t started more contests for any other team than the Lions. From 2021-23, he started 29 of 38 regular season contests and two playoff games.
In 2023, he had 40 catches, 608 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Reynolds averaged 15.2 yards per reception.
Ex-Lions WR Josh Reynolds Tries Out for New Orleans Saints
GettyWide receiver Josh Reynolds played for the Detroit Lions from 2021-23.
NFL insiders reported Tuesday the Saints will lose first-round receiver Jordyn Tyson for about two months. Tyson suffered a hamstring injury at training camp last week.
In conclusion, the Saints are in the market for a new receiver. Reynolds made the short list of veterans the team brought in to try out.
Reynolds entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s been a role player for a majority of his career, but from 2020-23, Reynolds had three seasons with at least 479 yards.
He eclipsed the 600-yard mark twice in 2020 and 2023. Reynolds had a career-high 52 receptions in 2020.
Reynolds hasn’t been the same player since leaving the Lions. That could very well be because he no longer gets the benefit of playing with all of Detroit’s other offensive weapons.
Reynolds is also now 31 years old, so he could be slowing down due to age.
In his final Lions game, Reynolds had two key drops on fourth down in the NFC championship game. The mishaps played a crucial role in the team blowing a 17-point halftime lead.
Perhaps those plays left a psychological impact on Reynolds.
Regardless of the reason behind his decline, Reynolds is battling for at least one more chance in the league. Last season, he had 11 catches and 101 receiving yards in five contests.
Reynolds’ Relationship With QB Jared Goff
GettyJosh Reynolds played parts of his first seven NFL seasons with quarterback Jared Goff.
Reynolds has played for three teams since leaving Detroit — the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Jets. With those three organizations, he’s worked with multiple different quarterbacks.
That fact could potentially be contributing to Reynolds’ decline on the stat sheet too.
In his first seven seasons, Reynolds played a majority of his games with quarterback Jared Goff. The two were teammates with the Rams from 2017-20.
During the first part of 2021, Reynolds played for the Tennessee Titans. But midseason, the Titans waived him and the Lions picked him up. Goff was in his first season in Detroit at the time.
All of Reynolds’ best statistical receiving seasons were with Goff. To have success with the Saints, he’s obviously going to have to work a little better with another signal-caller. But there’s little denying how great of a connection Goff and Reynolds were over the years.
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