Updated 53-man roster projection after the Lions 2nd preseason game
Roster cutdowns around the NFL come in just over a week. The Detroit Lions, like all NFL teams, will have to get down to an initial 53-man roster from the current 90. With just one roster cutdown this year, it builds the dram of who makes it and who does not.
With one preseason game left and a little over a week before roster cutdown day, here’s the current projection for how that initial 53-man roster will look for Detroit.
Quarterbacks - 2*
Running backs - 4
Jason Cabinda (FB)
There isn’t much drama about the pecking order as much as there is about how many the Lions will keep.
My current working theory is that Reynolds will the third RB and he’ll be active each week, and the Lions will promote a fourth RB from the practice squad as they feel the need. Because there is no real differentiation between the value of Benny Snell, Jermar Jefferson, Devine Ozigbo or a free agent they can sign after roster cutdowns, the prediction is the Lions open up a roster spot at another position and roll with three true RBs.
Then there’s Cabinda. He’s not had a good preseason and isn’t a real asset on special teams. Yet I still think his leadership, paired with the lack of a standout TE to maybe take away his blocking role, keeps Cabinda safe. He’s No. 52 of 53 on my list.
Wide receivers - 7*
Dylan Drummond
Maurice Alexander (if he’s healthy)
There isn’t much debate about the top four or Williams.
Williams gets the asterisk because he’ll immediately be suspended for the first six games following the roster establishment. That leaves the door open for the Lions to instantly bring back one of the players left on the cutting room floor here, namely undrafted rookie Chase Cota or veteran Trinity Benson.
Alexander makes it as a return specialist option as well as being the most natural slot option of the reserves.
The only real drama here is between Drummond/Alexander or the aforementioned Cota or Benson. Drummond has been the more consistently better receiver all summer than any of them, so he gets the tentative nod. Cota could edge out Alexander if the Lions decide they have enough return specialist options aside from him and Raymond, who will be the team’s punt returner as well.
Tight ends - 3
James Mitchell
This trio is pretty sett. The only real question here is if the Lions opt to keep a fourth TE as a designated blocker and special teams player. The leading candidate is Darrell Daniels, but at this point I don’t expect it.
Offensive line - 10
Defensive tackles - 4
The first three here are easy. McNeill and Buggs both figure to play a lot, with rookie Martin getting as many snaps as he can earn.
Keeping Onwuzurike is a complex projection. It’s essentially a somewhat educated guess on my part that the team will value his valiant fight from a back injury that many–including some on the team itself–expected to be career-ending for the 2021 second-rounder. He’s not been better this summer than Benito Jones, who offers more stoutness against the run and gets off blocks better. This position, the 4th DT, is No. 53 on the roster.
The thought is, Jones can get through to the practice squad easier than Onwuzurike. Guys like Cominsky, Paschal and Romeo Okwara have also lined up on the interior fairly regularly this summer, so there is enough positional flex to not have to keep a fifth on the active roster.
EDGE - 6
James Houston
Romeo Okwara
Linebackers - 5
Cornerbacks - 5
Safeties - 4
Special teams - 3
Punter – Jack Fox
Long snapper – Scott Daly
Kicker – Riley Patterson
Fox and Daly are uncontested. Patterson edges out John Parker Romo on the simple fact that the Lions traded a late-round pick for him. Their camp battle has been decidedly inconclusive.
