Excited to play with Luck

Ebron said Andrew Luck (shoulder) is the reason he signed with the Colts, as the tight end wanted to play with a quarterback who could get him the ball, Bob Kravitz of WTHR reports.

Analysis: Ebron oddly seems to be taking a bit of a shot at Matthew Stafford, who completed 66.1 percent of his passes while tossing 85 touchdowns and 33 interceptions the past three seasons. Regardless of his judgement on quarterbacks, Ebron is one of the better athletes at his own position and will be celebrating his 25th birthday Tuesday. The Colts are betting he has untapped upside, after signing him to a two-year, $13 million contract that includes $6 million guaranteed, per OverTheCap. It isn't a…read more

Lands deal in Indy

The Colts and Ebron reached agreement on a two-year contract Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Analysis: Selected 10th overall by the Lions in the 2014 draft, Ebron was unable to uphold lofty expectations, despite earning at least 52 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the last three seasons. If one cherry picks his best marks in each category, the line reads 61 catches (in 2016) on 86 targets (2017) for 711 yards (2016) and five touchdowns (2015). Overall, he averaged just 7.2 YPT and caught a TD every 16.9 receptions as a Lion, but working in his favor with the Colts will be the attention…read more

Ebron completed a visit with the Panthers and is visiting the Colts on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Analysis: Released by the Lions last week, Ebron instantly became one of the top tight ends on the market, but his first two visits suggest he nonetheless may end up settling for a No. 2 role. He'd slot in behind Jack Doyle in Indianapolis or Greg Olsen in Carolina, though both teams are rather fond of two-TE formations, in part because they don't have much talent at wide receiver. The 2014 first-round pick will celebrate his 25th birthday in April.

Released at last second

The Lions released Ebron on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Analysis: Unable to find a trade, the Lions released Ebron an hour before his $8.25 million fifth-year option salary would've become guaranteed. He'll hit the open market coming off a strong run to close out 2017, though even the hot streak wasn't enough to make his year-long stat line look good. He caught 53 of 86 targets for 574 yards (6.7 YPT) and four touchdowns, failing to build on a 2016 campaign in which he had 711 receiving yards in 13 games. The 10th overall pick from the 2014 draft figures to…read more

Ebron has been told that the Lions are open to trading him, Dianna Russini of ESPN reports.

Analysis: Ebron is under contract for 2018 at the fifth-year option salary of $8.25 million, a figure that likely would limit trade compensation to a middle- or late-round draft pick. He cut down on drops last season and enjoyed a stretch of six straight games with four or more catches for 33 or more yards late in the year, and yet still finished the campaign with only 53 catches for 574 yards (6.7 YPT) and four touchdowns on 86 targets. The 10th overall pick from the 2014 draft has mostly been a…read more

Ebron was the subject of trade talks during the recently completed NFL Scouting Combine, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Analysis: Lions general manager Bob Quinn said earlier this offseason that Ebron would remain with the club in 2018, but that doesn't mean the team won't field trade offers for the tight end. While he has never quite been able to meet expectations, the 2014 first-round pick enjoyed perhaps the best stretch of his career in November and December last season, at one point registering six straight games with four or more catches for 33 or more yards. Perhaps even more encouraging, he was officially credited…read more

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said after the team's Week 17 win over the Packers that Ebron would be retained in 2018, Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Analysis: The Lions exercised Ebron's $8.25 million fifth-year option for 2018 last May, but the team could cut him with few repercussions before the new league year opens March 14. Though the Lions have since hired Matt Patricia as their new head coach, it appears Ebron, who has been criticized for drops over his four years in the league, remains in solid standing with the organization after a strong finish to this past season. Ebron hauled in 33 of 47 targets for 340 yards and two touchdowns over the…read more

Ebron brought in one of six targets for nine yards during Sunday's 35-11 victory over Green Bay.

Analysis: Ebron's up-and-down season ended on a low note, which was a disappointment to many after the 2010 first-rounder collected 20 receptions, 210 receiving yards and two scores in his previous three games. In fact, Ebron was in the midst of putting the finishing touches on a drastic turnaround from his horrid start to the season in which he averaged 17.0 receiving yards on a 50-percent catch rate across the season's first six contests -- with the perceived draft bust even drawing boos at home from…read more

Ebron (knee) was a full practice participant Friday and doesn't have a designation on the final injury report for Sunday's game against the Packers.

Analysis: A limited participant the previous two days, Ebron answered any questions by logging a full session to close out the week. He's been making the most of his time on the field in recent weeks, recording six consecutive games with four or more catches on 42 or fewer snaps. The Lions still don't seem to trust Ebron when it comes to blocking, but he's been targeted on a whopping 22.5 percent of his snaps during the six-game stretch, averaging 5.3 catches for 55 yards on 6.8 targets with a pair of…read more

Ebron (knee) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday.

Analysis: Ebron missed five games between the 2015 and 2016 seasons due to a pair of knee injuries, but a limited showing Wednesday would seem to imply he's not in much danger of sitting out Week 17. That said, an absence would be a hit to the Lions' passing attack. Over the last nine games, he's put up at least 33 receiving yards on each occasion while reaching the end zone three times. As a result, his status should be watched closely as the weekend draws closer.

Ebron caught five of eight targets for 83 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 26-17 loss to the Bengals.

Analysis: Ebron tied for the team lead in targets while leading the way in catches and receiving yards. He got the scoring started with a 33-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter for his second trip to the end zone in as many weeks. After topping three catches just once through the first nine games -- leading to intense trade speculation -- Ebron now has at least four receptions in each of the last six games and has his top two yardage outputs over the last three weeks. While the Lions are now…read more

Ebron caught five of seven passes for 33 yards and a touchdown during Saturday's 20-10 victory over Chicago.

Analysis: Ebron has now paced the Lions in targets for a second consecutive week, which is a strange development as he regularly operated as the No. 4 or 5 option in the passing game all season. Furthermore, he's now caught at least four passes in each of his last five games while averaging 6.6 targets and 49.6 receiving yards across that span. In his previous nine contests, Ebron was logging just 2.2 receptions for 26.0 receiving yards on 4.3 looks per game. The reason for this increased productivity…read more

Ebron brought in 10 of 11 passes for 94 yards in Sunday's 24-21 win over the Buccaneers. He also lost a fumble.

Analysis: The inconsistent tight end's season-best performance came out of nowhere, and was particularly surprising considering the Buccaneers checked into Sunday's contest as one of the stingiest in the NFL against tight ends. Ebron regularly got the better of Tampa's linebackers and safeties throughout the afternoon while posting season highs in receptions, targets and yards. The five-year veteran's production is still hard to trust on a week-to-week basis, but he offers some modest fantasy upside at…read more

Ebron secured all four of his targets for 38 yards during Sunday's 44-20 loss to the Ravens.

Analysis: Ebron's workload remained modest and his longest gain went for just 13 yards. Both Darren Fells and rookie Michael Roberts saw similar playing time, too. Per usual, there's little upside to found in this tight-end-by-committee approach the Lions are fond of. Ebron isn't a recommended fantasy options in Week 14 despite the appealing matchup against Tampa Bay.

Ebron secured all four of his targets for 34 yards during Thursday's 30-23 loss to the Vikings.

Analysis: Ebron finished third on the team in targets but still isn't proving to be much of a fantasy factor. He's only topped 50 receiving yards in one game this season, which was due to a single 44-yard gain against Pittsburgh in Week 8. Furthermore, he's only found the end zone twice all year and both came against two of the worst defenses against tight ends this season -- that being the Giants and Browns. With bye weeks now over and little upside to his name, Ebron belongs on the waiver wire in most…read more

Ebron caught four of seven targets for 49 yards during Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Bears.

Analysis: Ebron looks to be reasserting himself as a legitimate weapon down the field, as he's now averaging five targets and 45.3 receiving yards per game across his past four appearances. Meanwhile, Darren Fells has only seen 1.5 targets and 7.8 receiving yards per game during that same stretch. Although Fells actually garnered more playing time Sunday, it nonetheless seems that this tight end corps is settling in as we expected in the preseason with Fells the blocking specialist and Ebron the more…read more

Ebron caught two of three targets for 39 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 38-24 victory over the Browns.

Analysis: Ebron took advantage of the league's second-worst pass defense against tight ends (558 yards allowed to the position entering Week 10) to collect his second touchdown of the season. However, he's still only topped two receptions or 40 receiving yards in one game since Week 2 and continues to see modest usage in the offense while splitting reps with Darren Fells. Ebron will remain a touchdown-dependent fantasy option in Week 11 against the Bears.