The Detroit Lions put tight end Brandon Pettigrew was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform-list earlier this week, which means he'll miss -- at minimum -- the first six weeks of the season to recover from a torn ACL.
And according to ESPN Insider Field Yates, the eighth-year tight end has also agreed to a slightly reworked contract, according to a league source.
Per Yates, Pettigrew was previously due a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.65M for 2016. Under the new terms of the deal, Pettigrew added a $2.2M salary split while on PUP, and had $1.2M of his contract fully-guaranteed. This means that while Pettigrew remains on the PUP list, his weekly pay will be at a rate of $129,411 (one seventeenth of $2.2M). If he is activated to the 53-man roster, he will be paid a weekly rate of $214,706 (one seventeenth of $3.65M).
The maneuver gives Pettigrew some security in the form of the $1.2M guarantee, while the team saves money until he returns to the field.
Pettigrew is expected to be Detroit's No. 2 tight end and the team's top blocking tight end option when he returns. He has transitioned over the past three years from a pass-catching tight end to one whose primary job was to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The 31-year-old has 301 career catches for 2,965 yards and 17 touchdowns. Most of that came early in his career after he was a first-round draft pick in 2009. In the past two seasons combined, he has only caught 17 passes for 137 yards.
Pettigrew is in the third year of a four-year deal with the Lions. With Pettigrew still sidelined, the Lions have Ebron and likely undrafted rookie Cole Wick on the 53-man roster. Detroit is going to be making potential roster decisions with tight ends Orson Charles and Adam Fuehne this weekend. The Lions also signed Andrew Quarless during training camp, but he'll be suspended for the first two games of the season.
ESPN Insider Field Yates contributed to this report.
