Chase Lucas felt pretty good about his chances of making the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster after a strong finish to the preseason — until he talked to one of his draft classmates, that is.
Lucas, the Lions’ seventh-round pick, called James Houston, a sixth-rounder, to check in last Monday, only to learn Houston was on his way to the team’s Allen Park practice facility to be waived.
“I called him and I was asking him where he was going,” Lucas said. “He said he was coming up here. He said they called him and told him to come up here. I was like, ‘Damn.’ So that’s when I knew. I’m like, ‘Shit, I’m probably going to get called here in a second.'”
Lucas turned on the ringer on his cell phone and treated it like a live grenade, staying as far away as possible for the next 24 hours. He set it in the back corner of his hotel room and passed time by playing video games from his bed, ignoring a slew of “good luck” text messages from friends while fretting a phone call that never came.
The Lions kept Lucas on their initial 53-man roster, and the rookie appears to be in line to play a key special teams role and serve as a backup in the secondary in Sunday’s season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Lucas recovered an onside kick on his final play of the preseason, in the Lions’ 19-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played just 45 defensive snaps in three exhibition games, but impressed coaches with his versaility and nose for the ball.
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Along with his onside recovery, Lucas had one pass breakup in the Lions’ preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, when he could not corral a game-clinching interception.
“We like Lucas, just what he’s been able to do,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday before roster cuts. “He’s a pretty smart kid and he’s got a lot of energy, a lot of passion.”
Lucas said his mom sent him a tweet of that quote from Campbell, who went on to say Lucas was “one of these guys we’re talking about right now, what do we do?” as he was awaiting his fate Monday.
“That’s when I was like, ‘Whoa, OK,'” Lucas said. “And then my stomach kind of hurt. But man, I always knew if you work hard, do your thing, you’ll get whatever you deserve so that’s how I feel.”
As hard-earned as his roster spot was — the Lions kept Lucas as their No. 2 slot cornerback behind Mike Hughes, waiving last year’s starter, AJ Parker — Lucas said he is not taking his place on the team for granted.
He joked he still is nervous about talking too much to Lions secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant “cause you can still get cut at any time.” And he said making the 53-man roster is just the first of many goals he’s trying to accomplish this year.
“People always (say to) me like, ‘Bro, (you) made the 53,'” Lucas said. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m trying to start. I don’t care about the 53.’ I feel like in my head I’m supposed to be on the 53, but am I good enough to start? Or do they trust me enough to start? That’s my next goal at this point.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.