The final Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection ahead of the NFL cutdown deadline

Starter: Jared Goff

Reserves: Hendon Hooker, Nate Sudfeld

Fans absolutely don’t want to hear it, and I don’t really comprehend why it’s true either, but Nate Sudfeld is a roster lock. He’ll be the No. 2. Dan Campbell told us that directly,

“Hooker is a young developing quarterback and he needs reps and he needs time. I do know that. And Nate right now has the upper hand because he’s played more. He’s been in it more, he’s seen it more, he just – and so with that, that would tell you there’s a good chance you could keep three.”

Make no mistake: I think Hooker is a better player than Sudfeld now, and he’s blessed with infinitely higher upside. Sudfeld is a dead end; he’s better than either Tim Boyle or David Blough from recent years, but he’s not worthy of rostering in my opinion. Having said that, I do see why the Lions don’t think Hooker is ready for that No. 2 spot yet.

Regarding the new emergency QB rule, which allows a 3rd QB to be active even from the practice squad (last year it had to be from the active roster): it doesn’t apply to the LIons case here because Sudfeld would be the guy Campbell and Ben Johnson insert at No. 2, not Hooker, and that would mean the Lions would have to cut Hooker to the practice squad instead of Sudfeld. That emergency QB can only play if the first two QBs are lost to injury.

Also, I really hope the Lions keep Jake Fromm on the practice squad. What Fromm did on Saturday is worth keeping around.

Starters: David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs

Reserves: Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki

No changes needed here, as this foursome has been well-established for weeks. Vaki being an instant special teams ace erases any doubt, even though he’s fairly raw as a runner.

Reynolds did miss the last week of preseason with an injury that bears watching. Dan Campbell indicated No. 13 should be good to go, but if he’s not, Jermar Jefferson is next in line. Reynolds had an outstanding offseason of work.

Starters: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams

Reserves: Kalif Raymond, Isaiah Williams

I didn’t make any changes to the projection here. I was ready to edit in Donovan Peoples-Jones or Daurice Fountain, but neither showed enough to seize a spot. Williams adding value as a kick returner helps the UDFA from Illinois make it. He’s also the only real viable backup to St. Brown in the slot; Raymond is small but is a much better outside receiver with more straight-line speed. Williams wins with quickness, savvy and nifty feet.

Could the Lions claim a wideout from another team? Sure. I’d prefer they get ahead of that market and trade for one if they’re serious about getting someone better than Williams for the No. 4 spot, but that’s just my opinion.

Maurice Alexander is the only wideout who should be a practice squad priority, and that’s more about his punt and kick return ability than his receiving skills. Everyone else, including UDFA Jalon Calhoun and vet Tom Kennedy, can be improved upon from the outside.

Starter: Sam LaPorta

Reserves: Brock Wright, James Mitchell

Movement elsewhere on the roster forced me to predict just three TEs making it after rolling with four in all previous incarnations. And picking that third TE is very difficult.

Odds to be the Lions 3rd TE, as estimated by me after watching training camp and talking to some coaches:
–James Mitchell: 35 percent
–Shane Zylstra: 34 percent
–Parker Hesse: 31 percent

Hesse gets the lowest odds because, oddly enough, he’s the least likely of the trio to get poached by another team. Although if Mitchell does get waived, it’s probably for the best for both sides if he winds up in another uniform in 2024. Zylstra being the best receiver of the bunch and capable of functioning as a fourth WR in short-yardage and red zone situations is tough to overlook.

Apologies to Sean McKeon, who would have been TE2 on some very recent Lions teams but just doesn’t have enough juice to crack this year’s Detroit roster.

Starters (L-R): Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Penei Sewell

Reserves: Colby Sorsdal, Kayode Awosika, Giovanni Manu, Kingsley Eguakun

NFI: Christian Mahogany

The first eight spots here were pretty easy. It’s that final one (or perhaps two) that is a definite uncertainty. I think Eguakun’s work at both right guard and center with the first team showed enough promise to keep him. In addition, the Lions have hinted behind the scenes that they prefer to keep an actual backup center this year instead of flopping Glasgow into the pivot from guard. Eguakun can be that guy as an undrafted rookie from Florida with great feet and quick eyes.

That’s predicated, of course, on Mahogany remaining on the non-football illness list to start the year. The sixth-round rookie guard missed all of training camp. Activating him before Tuesday’s deadline means he makes it and someone else doesn’t. That could be Eguakun or it could even be Awosika, though big No. 74 feels safe after not playing on Saturday.

But what about Dan Skipper? All offseason, I’ve gone with the notion that the Lions will do with Skipper exactly what they did a year ago — release him on Tuesday with both parties knowing he’ll be back in a day or two when someone at another position (Melifonwu?) heads to I.R.

Michael Niese and Jake Burton should be practice squad priorities.

Starters: Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport

Reserves: Josh Paschal, Mitchell Agude, Isaac Ukwu*

Hutchinson, Davenport and Paschal are locks. And if they all stay healthy, they’re apt to be the only EDGEs who see meaningful reps in meaningful games.

Agude has played his way onto the roster, though terming him an “EDGE” is a little disingenuous. He’s the backup SAM backer behind Derrick Barnes, and really the only backup option at that spot the Lions currently have on the roster.

I have the undrafted rookie Ukwu making it, but there’s an asterisk. If a more accomplished pass rusher who better fits the size profile (Ukwu is 6-2/258; all the others are at least 10 pounds heavier and inches longer in reach) becomes available, Ukwu instead heads to the practice squad.

James Houston is a very tough call. I can absolutely see him making it based on his pass rushing proficiency, but he’s two inches shorter and about 15 pounds lighter than Ukwu, and Ukwu is undersized for Detroit. He’s also consistently less explosive off the snap (though when Houston does time the get-off it’s better) and not even close to as capable of a run defender, and those things matter to the Lions a lot. When Dan Campbell said after the Steelers game that Houston is a tough call, that tells me some in the building want him, while others do not. I theorize that the Lions will realize another team values his rookie accomplishments more and make an effort to trade him, but that’s just a guess.

Keeping veteran Pat O’Connor on the practice squad makes sense. He’s got the desired length and showed he can kick inside in packages since joining the Lions this summer. CFL star Mathieu Betts had some moments but didn’t appear close to viably threatening Houston, Ukwu or Agude based on practice performances.

Starters: Alim McNeill, DJ Reader

Reserves: Levi Onwuzurike, Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo, Brodric Martin

To IR: John Cominsky

Reader being activated before the start of the season siphons off a spot from a different position. I expect John Cominsky to be one of the two Lions placed on I.R. before the cutdowns who is designated to come back later. McNeill is poised for a monster season, and the remarkable recovery of Onwuzurike from spinal fusion surgery makes him both a great story and a very effective reserve with positional versatility.

Martin did get injured in the preseason finale but it seems minor enough that he can sit for a week or two and be fine. Wingo is undersized and that might render him a weekly inactive, at least to start the year. Chris Smith should be a practice squad priority.

Starters: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell

Reserves: Derrick Barnes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez, Ben Niemann

The top five here have all been givens since the offseason started, and for a good bit it looked like they’d be the only five. Then the team unearthed two very capable newcomers in veterans Ben Niemann and Ty Summers. Niemann has played very well while Rodriguez has been sidelined during camp, and his experience on special teams also helps earn him a spot. The fact he was kept out of the Steelers game speaks volumes about how the team feels about Niemann.

Summers played his way onto the practice squad, and it could very well be that the Lions also keep one of Abraham Beauplan or Joel Iyiegbuniwe on the practice squad too.

Starters: Terrion Arnold, Carlton Davis

Reserves: Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw, Kindle Vildor, Khalil Dorsey

To IR: Emmanuel Moseley

I only had five CBs making it all the way up to this edition, Arnold through Rakestraw. Then the Lions kept both Vildor and Dorsey out of the preseason finale. Those two appeared to be locked in a battle for that 5th spot. Now it appears they are locked in, period. With Brian Branch moving to safety and the relative lack of depth there, loading up on an extra CB makes sense.

Moseley could very well be done after his latest serious injury. Putting him on IR at the deadline keeps the door cracked open so he can return from his torn pec for a potential playoff run. Since the Lions don’t appear to have any other legit candidates for that IR spot, there’s no harm in using it on Moseley.

Steven Gilmore could conceivably get claimed by another team off waivers. Considering he couldn’t get on the field last year when the Detroit CB room was somewhere between inept and terrifying, that shouldn’t be seen as a big loss.

Starters: Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph

Reserves: Brandon Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu

Branch is a full-time safety now, which really helps the depth chart here. Melifonwu’s uncertain health status entering the season makes it tough to gauge how it will impact the roster decisions here–especially given his extensive injury history. Could that lead them to keep CJ Moore on the 53?

My guess is no. Moore is a vested veteran they can safely release and slide onto the practice squad for deployment on an as-needed basis. Loren Strickland needs to be kept on the practice squad, too.

Kicker: Jake Bates

Punter: Jack Fox

Long snapper: Scott Daly

Bates is probably on a pretty short leash after another rough outing against the Steelers, but the team loves his leg potential.

I stayed with Scott Daly as the long snapper ahead of undrafted rookie Hogan Hatten, but that is one of the biggest unknowns entering the cutdowns.