Lions TE Josh Hill to retire

Despite signing with the Lions earlier this offseason, veteran tight end Josh Hill intends to retire, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

Hill will walk away from the NFL having spent his entire playing career with the Saints. New Orleans, however, cut its long-tenured pass catcher this offseason. The soon-to-be 31-year-old vet signed a one-year, $1.2M Lions deal soon after.

While the Saints frequently shopped for pass-catching tight ends, bringing in the likes of Coby Fleener, Ben Watson and Jared Cook in attempts to fill the Jimmy Graham-created void, Hill stuck around. The former UDFA out of Idaho State played in 117 Saints games, catching 116 passes for 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The Lions brought in Darren Fells for a workout earlier Tuesday. This certainly explains why the team is interested in another tight end.