The Detroit Lions may not even be one week into the 2026 season, but Kalif Raymond has already made his departure sting.
Raymond, now with the Chicago Bears, turned in a big opening act in Ben Johnson’s offense during Chicago’s 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers. The Bears scored at least 14 points in every quarter and matched the second-most points ever put up in a season opener, trailing only the 1973 Atlanta Falcons, who scored 62. Raymond led Chicago’s receivers with eight catches for 84 yards.
That kind of usage is exactly why this one looks different from Raymond’s time in Detroit. With the Lions, he was mostly deployed as a kick returner.
Against Carolina, though, Johnson gave him a much bigger role in the passing game. Raymond ran 22 routes and was targeted nine times, according to NextGen Stats.
During his five seasons in Detroit, he reached nine targets in a game only once, back in 2021.
No other Bears player was targeted more than five times Sunday, which makes Raymond’s involvement stand out even more. It also throws a spotlight back on Detroit’s receiver depth, where the Lions are still trying to sort out a WR3. Isaac TeSlaa is expected to hold that job, but after a summer of regression, he saw only one target in the Saints game.
There’s still time for TeSlaa, who is 24, to settle in. But if Raymond keeps producing as a receiver and the Lions can’t solve their WR3 issue, the way fans view general manager Brad Holmes could change fast.
And for Lions fans, the nightmare scenario is pretty easy to picture: Raymond and Johnson sharing a laugh over a Thanksgiving turducken.
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For a team that carried some preseason questions about the kicking game, Bates turned the conversation on its head in a hurry. The Lions are 1-0, the margin for error in the NFC is still as thin as ever, and a night that could have opened old anxieties instead gave Detroit something it badly needed early - a little confidence in a spot where confidence has not always come easy. [Read more 🡒]
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These Lions Could Decide Whether Detroit Survives Buffalo In Primetime
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Jahmyr Gibbs also looms as the kind of player who can change the pace of the night if Detroit can create space for him. What makes this matchup so interesting is how many of the Lions most important answers are tied to players who have to win their individual battles first, before the larger question of whether Detroit can survive in primetime even comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]