Lions' Jace Billingsley: Gets vote of confidence from teammate

Teammate Golden Tate believes Billingsley has enough talent to earn a key role in the Detroit offense, Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press reports. "[Billingsley] reminds me a lot of a younger me," Tate said. "Just very, very shifty. I think he's got some running back in him. I think he might have played running back in college, I think. But talented guy. I'm excited for him to get his opportunity in practice and going into the preseason, and he made this team for a reason.

An undrafted rookie last year, the 5-foot-9 Billingsley parlayed a strong preseason into a spot on the practice squad, which gave him time to learn how to play from the slot after splitting time between wide receiver and running back in college. With last season's slot receiver, Anquan Boldin, unsigned as the draft approaches, the Lions may need to find a replacement or else move Tate back to his pre-2016 role as the primary slot target. If Boldin signs elsewhere and the Lions decide to mostly keep Tate outside, Billingsley could be part of a competition for the No. 3 job. The competition likely would include TJ Jones, Keshawn Martin, Jared Abbrederis and potentially a rookie or two.