Tom Kennedy was a third-round pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft last spring, and now the Detroit Lions are giving him a chance to make the NFL as a wide receiver.

The Lions signed Kennedy to a contract Sunday after a successful tryout at this weekend's rookie minicamp.

Kennedy caught 33 passes for 410 yards in seven games with the Bryant University football team last season after spending four years starring on the school's lacrosse team.

Kennedy played just two years of college football — in 2017 he caught 57 passes for 888 yards and nine touchdowns for Bryant — and two years of varsity football in high school.

In lacrosse, he was an all-Northeast Conference midfielder at Bryant and played six games for the Boston Cannons pro lacrosse team last year, recording one assist.

While Kennedy's path to the NFL is unique, he's not the first lacrosse player to try his hand at football.

Chris Hogan, who played college lacrosse at Penn State and one season of football at Monmouth, played the last three seasons for the New England Patriots before signing a free-agent deal with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

The Lions also signed wide receiver Jordan Smallwood after a minicamp tryout. Smallwood spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers last season.

To make room on their 90-man roster, the Lions waived tight ends Donald Parham and Nate Becker, both of whom signed as undrafted free agents last week.

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