Raiders add former Lions tight end Brandon Barnes

With their tight end group growing thin, the Raiders today signed former Lions tight end Brandon Barnes. He was an undrafted free agent from Alabama State who signed in Detroit following the 2017 draft, and spent part of 2017 on the Lions practice squad.

Jon Gruden was clearly concerned about tight end depth following this week’s scrimmages against the Rams. “We had a hard time today. We only had one personnel group in. We had limited tight ends so we had to go with one personnel group almost the entire day with the exception of about ten plays. So we got to see who’s healthy at tight end, which receivers are healthy and when we have that we’ll go with our game plan,” said Gruden on Thursday afternoon.

Barnes had 29 receptions for 436 yards and added six receiving touchdowns in four years for Alabama State. In a corresponding move, the team released cornerback Isaiah Langley, who signed after the 2019 draft as an undrafted free agent.