Detroit Lions cut tracker: Who's in, who's out at 53-man NFL roster deadline
Dylan Drummond tied for the team-lead with nine catches this preseason and had as consistent a camp as any of the wide receivers fighting for back-end roster spots with the Detroit Lions, but that wasn't enough to earn the fifth receiver job.
The Lions waived Drummond on Monday as part of their second round of roster moves.
An undrafted rookie out of Eastern Michigan who earned a contract after a May tryout, Drummond caught nine passes for 87 yards this preseason and closed exhibition play with a strong showing against the Carolina Panthers.
"I thought Drummond made some critical catches," Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday.
Drummond had five catches for 46 yards against the Panthers and made several contested catches for first downs. He worked his way up from third- to second-string in training camp, and took some first-team reps earlier this month as the Lions dealt with injuries to their receiving corps.
The Lions are expected to keep rookie seventh-round pick Antoine Green as the No. 5 receiver on their initial 53-man roster. Green also played well against the Panthers, catching three passes for 97 yards with a 70-yard touchdown.
The Lions return Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds as their top three receivers and signed veteran Marvin Jones this offseason. Second-year wide out Jameson Williams will miss the first six games of the season with a suspension that goes into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
On Monday, the Lions waived receivers Trinity Benson and Avery Davis.
Ifedi among Sunday's roster cuts
The Detroit Lions announced 13 roster cuts Sunday, their first wave of moves to get down to a 53-man roster by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Five offensive linemen were among those cut, including Germain Ifedi, who was competing for the backup tackle job with Matt Nelson.
Nelson is expected to serve as the swing tackle this fall, and rookie Colby Sorsdal, who is moving to guard after playing tackle in college, played some right tackle in Friday’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers.
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Undrafted rookies Ryan Swoboda and Connor Galvin, and Max Pircher, an international roster exemption, are the only other tackles still on the roster, besides Nelson and starters Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell.
Along with Ifedi, the Lions released veterans Bobby Hart, Jason Moore and Devine Ozigbo, and waived Trinity Benson, Avery Davis, Obinna Eze, Scott Nelson, Darrin Paulo, Colby Richardson, Daniel Helm and Alex Mollette.
While none of those cuts is a surprise, Benson is the other notable name in the group. Acquires in a cut day trade with the Denver Broncos two years ago, he had been competing for a backup receiver job but had missed time in training camp with a leg injury.
Helm was a late arrival to camp, signing with the Lions in early August after Shane Zylstra suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.
The Lions' decisions have seemed pretty obvious at tight end since that day: Rookie second-round pick Sam LaPorta is TE1, and James Mitchell and Brock Wright are in line to make the 53-man roster as backups.
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Darrell Daniels, who signed the same day as Helm, is the final tight end currently on the Lions roster. He's played prominently on special teams the past three weeks and done well with his opportunity. He also has a history with Lions tight ends coach Steve Heiden, who he played for with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018-21.
It's possible the Lions have a surprise up their sleeve and plan to keep Daniels on the 53-man roster, but at a minimum, Daniels appears to have a clear path to the practice squad.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions cut tracker: All the moves on way to 53-man roster
