Detroit Lions-Panthers observations: Bubble players make their case for 53-man roster spot

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the Detroit Lions, picking a 53-man roster might have gotten more difficult Friday night.

The Lions got standout performances from several bubble players competing for roster spots in the first half of Friday’s game against the Carolina Panthers, further complicating decisions that are due by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Dylan Drummond capped a strong preseason with an impressive first half, catching five of six targets — many of them contested — for 46 yards in the Lions' 26-17 win at Bank of America Stadium.

Drummond is one of three or four players competing for the No. 5 receiver job, and he wasn’t the only one of that group to impress Friday. Rookie seventh-round pick Antoine Green caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater with 30 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Lions their first lead of the night.

On defense, Chase Lucas and Khalil Dorsey are among the leading candidates for a back-end roster spot at defensive back. Lucas made a diving interception on an Andy Dalton pass in the end zone to set up Green’s long touchdown, and Dorsey followed on the Lions’ next defensive series with a big hit on running back Camerun Peoples that forced a fumble.

Dorsey, who started at outside cornerback opposite Starling Thomas V, and Green also had long kick returns, and whoever wins both the receiver and defensive back jobs likely will have to have a role on special teams to contribute on game day.

Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week that a handful of roster spots remained up for grabs, and that how a player performed Friday could tip the scales in his favor. The Lions, as expected, held out most of their starters against the Panthers.

“Look, body of work goes a long way, but I’ll say this, man, you string a couple of, two or three really good showings back-to-back … and then, man, the game, that can certainly catch our eye, especially if we feel like it’s been just trending in the right way,” Campbell said. “So yeah, I mean, this isn’t shut off for a number of guys. We have an idea, we feel pretty good about this is where we’re thinking, but that doesn’t mean our minds are made up, either. So yes, absolutely, there’s some guys that still have an opportunity here that could catch our eye.”

More observations from Friday's first half:

Quarterback questions

While Drummond, Green, Dorsey and Lucas helped their case for a roster spot, Nate Sudfeld’s chance to stick as the No. 3 quarterback got a little murkier.

Sudfeld started the third quarter after Bridgewater played the entire first half but suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury on his series.

Sudfeld, who was 24 of 46 passing for 274 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions this preseason, was injured while trying to avoid a diving tackle on the sideline by Carolina linebacker DJ Johnson. He limped gingerly to the sideline and was quickly carted to the locker room.

The Lions had been contemplating keeping three quarterbacks, with Bridgewater the presumed backup behind starter Jared Goff. Bridgewater, wearing a new No. 17 jersey after sporting No. 50 since he arrived in camp, played well Friday, completing 13 of 22 passes for 178 yards. He looked more comfortable with some of the Lions' timing routes, which should be expected with more time in the system.

Are you still watching?

Running back Craig Reynolds is another player who took a step towards solidifying his roster spot Friday. Reynolds had 41 yards rushing on 11 carries in the first half and scored on a 5-yard run.

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Though he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, Reynolds showed good vision in traffic and bounced a nice run outside near the goal line.

He is the most reliable rusher of the backs fighting for the No. 3 job behind David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, though fellow backups Devine Ozigbo and Benny Snell have value on special teams. Ozigbo had a nice block in pass protection in Friday’s first half.

Hot on Tobacco Road

The Lions and Panthers played the coldest game in Bank of America Stadium history last December, when the Panthers ran for 320 yards in a lopsided 37-23 victory. Field conditions were so bad that game the NFL Players Association filed a complaint about the hardness of the field.

On Friday, the Lions and Panthers played in one of the warmest games in the stadium’s history. The gametime temperature was 93 degrees with a real feel of 104.

Just for kicks

Riley Patterson is the favorite to win the kicking job. He’s more experienced and has been slightly more consistent than Parker Romo this summer, but Patterson’s biggest issue showed up Friday when he missed a 53-yard field goal short off the crossbar.

Patterson does not have a big leg, and that’s something the Lions will have to manage if he holds the kicking job all year. He’s made two 50-plus-yard field goals in 24 career games, with a long of 53 last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

You're so special

Staying with special teams for a minute, the Lions had two more nice kick returns Friday, that 62-yarder by Dorsey on Carolina’s first kickoff and a 32-yarder by Antoine Green.

The Lions have gotten good production out of their return game no matter who’s handled returns, not just this summer but dating back to last year. Kalif Raymond (on punts) and Justin Jackson (on kicks) ranked among the league leaders in 2022, and Maurice Alexander returned a punt for a touchdown this preseason.

This is not to take anything away from the men handling the returns. Both Dorsey and Green bounced their returns outside for extra yardage after they appeared to be bottled up Friday.

But special teams coordinator Dave Fipp’s work in the kicking game has flown mostly under the radar since he came to Detroit, and it’s time to give him his due. Fipp was one of Campbell’s first hires as head coach and given the team’s success on special teams — on returns, with fakes and in the punt game — he looks like one of the best.

On the line

Levi Onwuzurike made a pair of nice plays on back-to-back snaps in Friday’s second quarter. The third-year defensive tackle came off a block to throw Terrace Marshall Jr. for a 5-yard loss on a screen pass on the first play of Carolina’s fourth offensive series, then beat the Panthers’ right guard with a nice rush one play later to hit Andy Dalton as he completed a pass.

A 2021 second-round pick, Onwuzurike has had a quiet start to his NFL career as he’s battled injuries, but is in line to play a rotational role this fall.

As I wrote Friday, I think the Lions’ biggest roster dilemma is what to do with all the depth they’ve accumulated on the defensive line. Onwuzurike’s roster spot is safe, but there probably isn’t enough room for Romeo Okwara, Julian Okwara, Benito Jones and Isaiah Buggs. One or two of those players will be on another team next week.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

For openers: Chiefs

Matchup: Lions (9-8 in 2022) vs. Kansas City (14-3 in 2022), season opener.

Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. Sept. 7; Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri.

TV/radio: NBC; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions observations: Bubble players make case for roster spot