Lions cut Anthony Firkser with Alim McNeill ready to return

The Lions cut tight end Anthony Firkser on Thursday, the team announced. The Lions cut defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs earlier this week, leaving them with 51 players after the departure of Firkser.

The Lions presumably will use the spots on defensive lineman Alim McNeill and safety Ceedy Duce, formerly known as C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“Yeah, I’ll be out there Sunday,” McNeill said, via Kyle Meinke of mlive.com. “I’ll be out there.”

McNeill has five sacks, which still ranks second on the team, but spent the past four weeks on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Duce is expected to rejoin a three-man rotation with Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kerby Joseph.

“Listen, all three of those guys are going to play, because they’re all good players,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said, via Meinke. “One thing we try to do as a defense is make sure we have our best players out on the field. Will all three of them be on the field at the same time? Possibly. Will someone be down? Possibly. But they’re all going to play, and you’ll see that.”