ALLEN PARK -- Theo Riddick is out in Detroit.

The Lions cut the seventh-year running back on Saturday to make room for the addition of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Mike Daniels. The move is somewhat surprising, given his stature as one of the most productive pass-catching running backs in the league, but also expected, when considering his declining production with his escalating cap number.

Detroit clears $3.55 million in cap space by moving on.

With Riddick out of the fold, the Lions are expected to spread the pass-catching duties among returning backs like Kerryon Johnson and Zach Zenner, as well as newcomers like C.J. Anderson and especially sixth-round pick Ty Johnson, a speedster from Maryland whose roster chances just improved considerably.

“We’re always going to try to do what’s best for the team,” coach Matt Patricia said before practice on Saturday. "Certainly we’re trying to manage all 90 guys on the roster, so we can go out and practice with all the bodies. Just the decision we made at the time.

“I’m not going to get into the details of it. Just for us and the team, where we’re going right now and the depth we see at certain positions. I would say obviously bringing in Mike, we had to find a spot. For us, Theo honestly was a great professional, he’s a great player and he did a lot of great things for us over the course of the years. We have all the respect in the world for all the things he’s done, but in any of those situations, we’re going to do what’s best for the team.”

A sixth-round pick in 2013, Riddick had become one of the finest pass-catching running backs in the league over the years. He caught 80 passes for 697 yards and three touchdowns during a breakout season in 2015, breaking James Jones’ team records for catches and receiving yards by a running back in a single season. Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate also caught more than 80 passes that season, making them just the fifth trio of teammates to reach that plateau in NFL history.

Now all three players are gone.

Riddick caught at least 50 passes in each of his final four seasons in Detroit, although lost some of his open-field explosion in recent years. Once known for his uncanny ability to make that first guy miss, Riddick became quite tackle-able last season. He broke just 13 tackles overall, according to ProFootballFocus, and ranked 85th among running backs in elusive rating.

He did catch 61 passes, but gained just 384 yards. He’s never provided much as a runner. And with a cap hit of $4.6 million looming in 2019, the Lions have elected to move on as they make room for Daniels on the 90-man roster.