Who should and shouldn’t make the Detroit Lions final roster?
Detroit Lions Offense
Quarterbacks (2)
Matthew Stafford and Matt Cassel.
The Lions keep the two most established quarterbacks with Matt Cassel pushing Jake Rudock out of the starting job.
Running Backs (5)
Kerryon Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah, and Nick Bellore.
No surprises here as the Lions keep four talented running backs and fullback with some upside in Nick Bellore.
Wide Receivers (5)
Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Kenny Golladay, TJ Jones, Brandon Powell.
The first four are all expected to make the team, and Brandon Powell earned a spot in the preseason with a very strong performance.
Tight Ends (4)
Luke Willson, Levine Toilolo, Hakeem Valles, and Michael Roberts.
Hakeem Valles earned a spot on the Lions roster, but they keep four since they’re not quite ready to give up on Michael Roberts.
Offensive Line (9)
Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, TJ Lang, Rick Wagner, Tyrell Crosby, Leo Koloamatangi, Brian Mihalik, and Joe Dahl.
The Lions starting five has been set in stone since the draft, and the other four are all high potential backups.
Detroit Lions Defense
Defensive Line (9)
Ezekiel Ansah, A’Shawn Robinson, Da’Shawn Hand, Ricky Jean Francois, Sylvester Williams, Anthony Zettel, Jeremiah Ledbetter, Kerry Hyder, and Alex Barrett.
Ansah is the only player in this group who has really ever been good in the NFL. A lot of these guys might not make most other NFL rosters, but this is the thinnest group on the Lions roster.
Linebackers (6)
Jarrad Davis, Devon Kennard, Christian Jones, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Eli Harold, and Jonathan Freeny.
The first four players here are locks to make the team, while Eli Harold has a lot of untapped athletic potential and Freeny can contribute on special teams and has familiarity with Matt Patricia.
Defensive Backs (10)
Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson, Deshawn Shead, Teez Tabor, Jamal Agnew, Glover Quin, Quandre Diggs, Tracy Walker, Tavon Wilson, and Miles Killebrew.
No surprises here, as all of these players have been expected to make the team throughout all of camp.
Special Teams (3)
Matt Prater, Sam Martin, and Don Muhlbach.
These three return to Detroit together for the fourth consecutive season.
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