If the Lions are indeed going to shift to a more regular pro style offense then they are going to need some production in the passing game from the TEs.  32-year old Dan Campbell appears to be ahead at the start of training camp for the starting job at TE.  He only played in 2 games last season for the Lions and he caught 1 pass for 1 whole yard.  Campbell will need to catch a few passes if he wants to get any playing time in 2008 with the Lions.  Campbell has now played in 113 games in his NFL career and he has caught 90 passes for 913 yards (10.1 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

6′3″, 277 pound Michael Gaines was brought in as a free agent in the offseason from Buffalo and he will likely play a lot on running down for the Lions.  Gaines played in 15 games with the Bills last season and he caught 25 passes for 215 yards (8.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Gaines to probably also catch a few more passes this season for the Lions.  Gaines has now played in 57 games in his NFL career and he has caught 56 passes for 550 yards (9.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

27-year old Casey FitzSimmons will also have a legit chance to earn a lot of playing time this season for the Lions.  FitzSimmons played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he caught 8 passes for 85 yards (10.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  FitzSimmons should catch more passes in 2008 than he did in 2007.  He has now played in 73 games in his NFL career and he has caught 58 passes for 464 yards (8.0 ag) with 4 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D