Pride of Detroit
With the Detroit Lions’ final preseason game on the books, the front office and coaching staff are now tasked with reducing their 91-man roster down to 53 players in preparation for the regular season. Final decisions are due by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but we are expected to see some transactions roll in over the next few days.
Typically, during the offseason, Jeremy Reisman and I publish a joint projection of the Lions’ 53-man roster, but at this final stage, we opted to do individual predictions to help readers understand what we each believe the Lions will decide—note: not what we would do.
If you missed Jeremy’s 53-man roster prediction (COMING SOON), be sure to check it out. But without further ado, here is how I see things playing out.
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes the player is a rookie
Jared Goff
Kyle Allen
Hendon Hooker
Allen and Hooker opened training camp in a close battle for the QB2 role, but over the last three games, Allen has separated himself as the clear and better option moving forward. In those three games, Allen completed 26 of 30 for 310 passing yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also had two games in which he registered a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
“It’s good to see Kyle really take it to where he’s gone. Feel very comfortable with him,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Allen following the Lions’ final preseason game.
Meanwhile, over his four games during the preseason, Hooker was 22 of 40 for 187 passing yards, zero TDs, three interceptions, 36.1 passer rating, along with eight rushes for 62 yards, two fumbles. But the most damaging stat is that Hooker led 20 drives this preseason and only managed three points—and that was on a drive that started at the Dolphins’ 27-yard line following a muffed punt.
At this point, I’m less concerned about Hooker getting claimed than I am wondering if he’ll even be brought back to the practice squad. When a coach starts talking about “change of scenery,” it’s time to speculate on his future in Detroit.
Jahmyr Gibbs
David Montgomery
Craig Reynolds
Sione Vaki
Jacob Saylors
Deon Jackson
No drama here, as things played exactly as expected. The Lions will likely return all four running backs from last season, and all of them hold important roles on the offense and/or special teams. Vaki has been nursing a hamstring all of training camp and ended up missing three of the Lions’ four preseason games. Campbell acknowledged Vaki’s current injury might keep him out a bit, but “it’s not a major thing.”
Keep an eye on Saylors for a spot on the Lions practice squad; Lions coaches like him quite a bit.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Jameson Williams
Tim Patrick
Kalif Raymond
Isaac TeSlaa*
Dominic Lovett*
Jackson Meeks*
Tom Kennedy
Ronnie Bell
Jakobie Keeney-James*
Malik Taylor
The first five receivers are locked in, but after that, there’s some...
