James Mitchell - NFL News, Rumors, & Updates

Headed to Carolina The Panthers signed Mitchell to a reserve/future contract Tuesday, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

Impact Mitchell spent the entire 2024 regular season on the Lions' practice squad after failing to make the 53-man roster at the end of training camp. He was elevated for Week 11 against the Jaguars and played 24 offensive snaps but did not show up in the box score otherwise. Mitchell will be a part of the Panthers' 90-man roster when the new league year starts March 12 and will participate in OTAs, minicamp and training camp ahead of the 2025 campaign.

JANUARY 22 • ROTOWIRE

Reverts Monday Mitchell reverted to the Lions' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log.

Impact The third-year pro was elevated to Detroit's active roster ahead of the Week 11 win over the Jaguars to ensure depth at tight end with Sam LaPorta (shoulder) ruled out. Mitchell ended up seeing increased time after Shane Zylstra sustained a neck injury in Sunday's win, playing 24 offensive snaps but failing to record a stat. He could be elevated to the Lions' active roster again before the team's Week 12 matchup against the Colts if LaPorta or Zylstra cannot suit up.

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Elevated for Week 11 The Lions elevated Mitchell from the practice squad Saturday.

Impact With Sam LaPorta (shoulder) out, Mitchell will provide depth behind Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra on Sunday against the Jaguars. A fifth-round pick by the Lions in 2022, Mitchell has 13 career catches for 141 yards and one touchdown.

NOVEMBER 17, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Joins Detroit's practice squad The Lions signed Mitchell to their practice squad Wednesday.

Impact The 25-year-old tight end failed to make the Lions' initial 53-man roster Tuesday, but he's now secured a spot on the team's practice squad. Mitchell has appeared in 29 regular-season games for the Lions across the past two seasons, so he could definitely be elevated to the team's active roster at some point this year.

AUGUST 29, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Doesn't make roster Mitchell was waived by Detroit on Tuesday.

Impact Since being selected by Detroit in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Mitchell has played in 19 regular-season games, tallying 13 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown. He was healthy during training camp after ending last season on IR due to a hand injury and caught two of three targets for 24 yards during the exhibition slate. Mitchell was in the running for the third tight-end spot to open the campaign, but that role instead went to Parker Hesse.

AUGUST 28, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Participates in offseason program Mitchell (hand) was seen catching passes last week during the beginning of Detroit's offseason program.

Impact Mitchell played 15 games during the 2023 regular season while primarily slotting in as a blocking tight end and contributor on special teams, as he caught just two passes. The 24-year-old then missed the Lions' postseason run with a hand injury. Mitchell's return to action during the offseason program likely means he's moved past the injury or the time being, so he'll likely slot back in behind Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright on the depth chart at tight end to begin the 2024 season.

MAY 16, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

First catch of season Mitchell caught one pass for four yards during Saturday's 20-19 loss to the Cowboys.

Impact Mitchell caught his first pass of the season while again logging at least a quarter of the offensive snaps in the continued absence of Brock Wright (hip). He'll remain off the fantasy radar even if Wright remains sidelined for the regular-season finale Sunday against the Vikings.

JANUARY 1, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

NFL odds Week 17: Bad beat for Lions moneyline bettors after penalty

The Lions appeared to complete a go-ahead two-point conversion pass but a penalty wiped out the play as the Cowboys escaped with a 20-19 win...

DECEMBER 31, 2023

NFL odds Week 17: Bad beat for Lions moneyline bettors after penalty

Cleared for Week 7 Mitchell (hamstring) is active for Sunday's matchup against the Ravens.

Impact Mitchell missed back-to-back games due to a hamstring injury, but he'll return to action versus Baltimore. The second-year tight end has played more special-teams snaps (31) than offensive snaps (25) this season and has yet to record a target.

OCTOBER 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Records reception in season finale Mitchell played 10 of the Lions' 60 snaps on offense and recorded a seven-yard reception in Sunday's 20-16 win over the Packers.

Impact Though he ranked third in snap share among Detroit tight ends in each of the final five games of the 2022 campaign, Mitchell still drew at least one target in all but one of those contests. All told, Mitchell turned in 11 receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown on 11 targets across his 14 appearances with the Lions in 2022. The 23-year-old is likely to remain in a depth role for Detroit heading into his second NFL season in 2023.

JANUARY 12, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

No looks during offensive explosion Mitchell did not see any targets in the passing game during Sunday's 41-14 win over the Jaguars.

Impact Like Shane Zylstra, Mitchell claimed a season-high 30 percent of the offensive snaps while Brock Wright saw his fewest proportion of snaps since T.J. Hockenson was dealt to the Vikings. It will be interesting to see if Mitchell's role could continue to grow down the stretch.

DECEMBER 5, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Makes play on Thanksgiving Mitchell caught one pass on one target for 22 yards during Thursday's loss to the Bills.

Impact Mitchell continued to hover around a quarter of the offensive snaps, and his only production came on a broken play in which quarterback Jared Goff was able to set up Mitchell for a decent catch-and-run opportunity. Otherwise, Mitchell was a complete afterthought in the passing game as Goff largely looked to his wideouts plus D'Andre Swift all day. Expect more of the same for the fifth-round rookie in Week 13 against Jacksonville.

NOVEMBER 25, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Remaining in small role Mitchell was not targeted with a pass during Sunday's 31-18 win over the Giants.

Impact After seeing an uptick in snaps between the first and second game since T.J. Hockenson was traded, Mitchell actually saw a slightly smaller portion of the snaps in the third game than he did the second. If Brock Wright continues to handle roughly three quarters of the snaps while Mitchell hovers around 20 percent, Mitchell won't be worth any consideration in fantasy circles. Up next is a Week 12 matchup with the Bills.

NOVEMBER 22, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

One catch against Bears Mitchell secured his only target for four yards during Sunday's 31-30 win over the Bears.

Impact While Mitchell didn't build upon his two-catch outing in Week 9, the fifth-round rookie saw an uptick in playing time as the Lions attempt to replace T.J. Hockenson. Meanwhile, starter Brock Wright saw a slight downtick in snaps but was still able to find the end zone. Mitchell will look to up his involvement in Week 11 against the Giants.

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

First career touchdown Mitchell caught two of two targets for eight yards and one touchdown during Sunday's 15-9 win over the Packers.

Impact While Detroit tight ends received only four of Jared Goff's 26 pass attempts in the team's first game without T.J. Hockenson, Mitchell received half of them and parlayed one into his first career touchdown. However, he also saw less playing time (21 offensive snaps) than new No. 1 tight end Brock Wright (81) and Shane Zylstra (26). Mitchell, a rookie fifth-rounder, should get plenty of opportunities to prove his worth as the rest of the year goes on, but his production figures to be unpredictable unless he starts seeing consistently high levels of playing time.

NOVEMBER 7, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Looking at increased opportunities Mitchell looks set for increased playing time in the wake of Detroit trading top tight end T.J. Hockenson being traded to the Vikings on Tuesday, Alec Lewis and Colton Pouncy of Th...

Impact Mitchell is likely still behind Brock Wright (head) for the time being, but with Hockenson no longer entrenched as the No. 1 tight end of the future, the Lions now have every incentive to take an extended look at the rookie fifth-round pick. Mitchell was a big-play threat back in college and averaged more than 17 yards per catch in 2019 and 2020, so his involvement will be worth keeping an eye on. He could emerge on the fantasy radar if he secures a significant pass-catching role with Hockenson out of the mix.

NOVEMBER 2, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Getting playing time Mitchell logged five offensive snaps during Sunday's 29-0 loss to the Patriots.

Impact Mitchell made his regular-season debut last week against Seattle and was active again this week in New England, but the fifth-round rookie again was limited to five snaps on offense. With T.J. Hockenson cemented atop the depth chart and Brock Wright maintaining the No. 2 role well, Mitchell may need to be used as an H-back in order to do any damage in the box score going forward.

OCTOBER 10, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Sitting out again Mitchell (coach's decision) will be sidelined Sunday against Minnesota.

Impact Mitchell will not suit up for the third consecutive week as the No. 4 tight end behind T.J. Hockenson, Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra. The rookie will look to work in practice next week to make his official NFL regular-season debut.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Inactive once again Mitchell (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Commanders.

Impact Mitchell will watch from the sidelines again in Week 2, as the rookie is still behind T.J. Hockenson, Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra on the team's tight end positional depth chart. He'll work in practice this week to get a chance to suit up in Week 3 against the Vikings.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Makes preseason debut Mitchell secured both of his targets for nine yards during Saturday's preseason win over the Colts.

Impact Bouncing back from a torn ACL he suffered last year at Virginia Tech, Mitchell made his professional debut after the Lions cautiously held him out of the preseason opener. Altogether, he saw 23 offensive snaps and was able to get open for a couple of receptions. While the fifth-round rookie is no higher than No. 3 on the depth chart behind T.J. Hockenson and Brock Wright, the investment Detroit made in Mitchell could give him the leg up on Devin Funchess (shoulder) and Shane Zylstra for a roster spot.

AUGUST 21, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Sidelined Friday Mitchell is not expected to suit up for Friday night's preseason game against Atlanta, Justin Rogers of The Detroit News reports.

Impact Mitchell just recently began working his way back into team activities after suffering a torn ACL during his final collegiate season with Virginia Tech. With the rookie tight end out, Brock Wright, Devin Funchess and Garrett Griffin should see increased usage.

AUGUST 12, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Passes physical examination Mitchell, who is coming off a torn ACL suffered last September, was medically cleared to practice Monday, Jeff Risdon of USA Today reports.

Impact Mitchell missed the final 11 games of his college career with Virginia Tech due to his season-ending injury, but he participated in each of the Lions' first two training-camp practices this week, per Nick Baumgardner and Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. The rookie fifth-round pick's draft status likely suffered due to this significant knee injury, so he could compete with Brock Wright, Devin Funchess and Garrett Griffin for Detroit's No. 2 tight-end spot should he impress during training camp.

JULY 28, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Unavailable for Tuesday's practice Mitchell (knee) was inactive for Tuesday's practice at mandatory minicamp, Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation reports.

Impact The rookie remains unavailable while rehabbing his knee after suffering a torn ACL in his final season at Virginia Tech. Mitchell expected to receive full medical clearance by now and it's unclear if he did so and was merely being held out as a precaution, but he'll likely be ready to go for next month's training camp. He'll operate as a depth option behind T.J. Hockenson at tight end once healthy.

JUNE 7, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Nearing full medical clearance Mitchell (knee) expects to receive full medical clearance by June, Benjamin Raven of MLive.com reports. "I'm seven months out, seven months and some weeks," Mitchell said. "I'm pre...

Impact Mitchell presumably fell to the fifth round of last week's draft due to an ACL injury he suffered last September. When healthy, the Virginia Tech product should slot no lower than fourth on the depth chart entering training camp. If all goes right this summer, Mitchell could possibly challenge Brock Wright and Garrett Griffin for the No. 2 role at tight end behind T.J. Hockenson -- while possibly getting snaps at H-back as well.

MAY 2, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Opportunity awaits in Motor City The Lions selected Mitchell (knee) in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 177th overall.

Impact Mitchell's senior season ended early when he tore his ACL after just two games. The Virginia native showed some promise between his sophomore and junior seasons with 47 receptions, 896 yards and six touchdowns through 23 games (17 starts). While he didn't test in the pre-draft process because of his knee, he utilized his speed well in college, though he's slightly undersized at 6-foot-4, 249 pounds. Mitchell has the versatility to fill an H-back role in the NFL, and Detroit's TE room is wide open behind T.J. Hockenson.

APRIL 30, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

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NFL odds Week 17: Bad beat for Lions moneyline bettors after penalty