Let me start this off by saying that I have no inside information on this at the moment. This is all speculation on my part. It’s a hunch if you will. It’s really the same hunch I had with Marvin Jones back in October. The end could be very near for the Lions and Isaiah Buggs. I don’t mean after the season. I mean within the next few weeks. Here’s why:
This just isn’t working out with Buggs and the Lions. Something happened over the offseason and the relationship seems to be affected by it. He was benched for the first two games to start the season and at this point, he has been a healthy scratch for the last three games. He hasn’t played since Week 10 against the Chargers. When he’s actually been on the field, he hasn’t played very well. This could lead to him being the odd man out very soon.
The biggest reasons are that the Lions have a lot of roster moves that they need to make soon and space needs to be cleared. Here’s a list of things to be done for the Lions.
- Hendon Hooker needs to be added to the active roster in the next 14 days.
- Bruce Irvin needs to be added to the active roster. He’s still on the practice squad right now. He was only elevated for Sunday’s game as a part of the active/inactive list.
- Quinton Bohanna could be added to the active roster soon as well. He was elevated onto the active/inactive list the last three weeks and he started the last two games. You can only elevate a player three times in a season by NFL rules. They would have to sign him to the active roster if they want to keep playing him.
- James Houston is expected to return from IR soon and a spot will need to be opened up for him.
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson is expected to return soon and a spot will need to be opened up for him as well.
- The newly signed Tyson Alualu could also require a roster spot at some point if things go well.
That’s five roster spots that need to open up in short order, possibly six. Now, there are players on the roster that could be sent down to the practice squad. Guys like Steven Gilmore, Chase Lucas, Antoine Green and possibly Trevor Nowaske. The only problem with Nowaske is that the Lions signed him to the active roster a few weeks ago because teams were trying to poach him. They may not want to risk a player they see a future with.
That leaves Buggs. I know there’s a large section of Lions fans that feel Buggs should be getting a chance to play, but it hasn’t been happening. Maybe it will with McNeill heading to IR. I think they’ll go with Bohanna an Levi Onwuzurkie, but maybe I’ll be wrong there.
The point is that he’s been healthy and the Lions aren’t playing him. He’s just a guy holding down a roster spot at this point. He’s not a rookie in development like Brodric Martin, a reserve player like Levi Onwuzurike or Julian Okwara or an undrafted rookie like Steven Gilmore. He’s just a veteran player that his team doesn’t want to play. And that team needs to make room for the guys that they do want to play. Buggs could be a victim of that circumstance.
It could be the best move for both parties. The Lions are able to clear some space for players they feel good about and Buggs is able to go find a team that is a better fit for him. Maybe he winds up on team that’s headed to the playoffs and he gets to play.
If the Lions were to release Buggs at this point in the season it would cost them just over a million dollars in dead cap. It would also free up just over a million in cap space this season. It’s pretty much a wash at that point.
We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks. This one feels like it’s on the horizon though. But again, maybe I’ll be wrong. Maybe they play Buggs this Sunday against the Bears and everything goes really well. I actually hope that’s the outcome of all this. But I just can’t see it right now.