R.J. Archer tried out for the Lions at their minicamp and they must have seen something appealing in the Arena Leaguer.
The Lions announced Thursday that they’ve signed Archer to a contract. Archer has led the Georgia Force to a 7-7 record this season and he spent time with the Vikings near the end of the 2010 season when injuries limited their supply of signal callers. He played his college ball at the College of William & Mary.
Archer’s signing means that Kellen Moore, the undrafted rookie signed after a stellar career at Boise State and pictured on this page, doesn’t have a total lock on the third quarterback job. There have been some positive reviews of Moore’s offseason work, although all of them are tempered with comments about his lack of the requisite arm strength for the position.
With Archer in the fold, Moore will have to earn the position instead of just having it handed to him. There’s a fair chance that either Archer or Moore would start the year on the practice squad since the Lions are well situated with Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill in the first two spots.
The Lions dropped wide receiver Troy Burrell to make room for Archer.