At first glance the Detroit Lions roster is heavy at wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback. When the Lions entered Saturday’s cut down day, the roster stood at 79 players. Detroit head coach Matt Patricia said ” I hate it, it’s the worse,” when addressing the media about cut day. So let’s look at the newly constructed Detroit Lions roster.
Quarterbacks (2)-
Kept, Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel
Gone- David Blough
Blough is gone at least for now. The quarterback had show improvement in training camp, enough to be a backup. Perhaps the Lions will look to sign him to the P.S. (practice squad) if he is not claimed by another team.
Running Back (5)
Kept- Kerryon Johnson, D’Andre Swift, Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson, Jason Cabinda
Gone- Jonathan Williams, Wes Hills, Jason Huntley
The surprise in the running back group is fifth round draft pick Huntley was cut. Huntley had a very good camp. The running back looked like he had some real playmaking ability with the ball in his hands during camp practices.
Wide Receiver (6)
Kept- Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Marvin Hall, Quintez Cephus, Jamal Agnew
Gone- Chris Lacy, Tom Kennedy, Victor Bolden
No surprises here. The only question is how Patrica and his coaching staff rotate players.
Tight End (3)
Kept- T.J. Hockenson, Jesse James, Hunter Bryant
Gone- Isaac Nauta, Matt Sokol
Hunter Bryant beating out Isaac Nauta is an eye raiser, simply because Bryant was an undrafted rookie and has been sidelined with a sore hamstring the past two weeks.
Offensive line (8)
Kept- Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Joe Dahl, Jonah Jackson, Tyrell Crosby, Logan Stenberg, Matt Nelson
Gone- Oday Aboushi, Kenny Wiggins, Beau Benzschawel, Dan Skipper (waived injured)
The Lions are going light on interior linemen. Kenny Wiggins was supposed to be the replacement for Graham Glasgow who signed with the Denver Broncos as a free agent, the fact the Lions cut Wiggins was a bit of a surprise.
Defensive Line (7)
Kept- Trey Flowers, Danny Shelton, Nick Williams, Julian Okwara, Da’Shawn Hand, Romeo Okwara, John Penisini
Gone- Kevin Strong, Frank Herron, Will Clarke, Olive Sagapolu, Albert Huggins, Kevin Wilkins
The only interesting thought with the defensive line unit is Da’ Shawn Hand has been dinged up at different times during his career. The Lions did not opt to keep and extra linemen for injury.
Linebackers (7)
Kept- Jamie Collins Sr., Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones, Jahlani Tavai, Reggie Ragland, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Elijah Lee
Gone- Anthony Pittman
No surprise Patrica went heavy at linebacker as they drive his defense.
Defensive Backs (12)
Kept- Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah, Justin Coleman, Amani Oruwariye, Tracy Walker, Duron Harmon, Will Harris, Darryl Roberts, Tony McRae, Miles Killebrew, C.J. Moore, Mike Ford
Gone- Dee Virgin, Jalen Elliott, Bobby Price
Patrica again went heavy with defensive backs. Detroit Lions 2020 first round draft pick Jeff Okudah did not win a starting job in training camp. Detroit will go (at least for now) with Amani Oruwariye as a started when they face the Chicago Bears next Sunday.
Specialists (3)
Kept- Matt Prater, Jack Fox, Don Muhlbach
Gone- Arryn Siposs, Steven Wirtel
In a very close competition Jack Fox won the Lions punting job. Fox had the stronger leg and showed to be more consistent in training camp.
