A lot of players hit the open market all over the NFL on Tuesday. That means there’s now about 900 players out there that are looking for spots on rosters or practice squads. If you’re a young player looking for a chance, the Detroit Lions practice squad is the place you want to be.
The big reason is that the Lions play their practice squad guys a lot and they have a tendency to promote those guys at some point too. For example, Michael Niese, Brandon Joseph and Kayode Awosika were all on the practice squad last season and are now all on the Lions 53-man roster this year.
The team also elevated two guys per game last year and they all got on the field at some point. Take a look at who got elevated.
- Zonovan Knight
- Devine Ozigbo
- Jason Cabinda
- Kindle Vildor
- Quinton Bohanna
- Tyson Alualu
- Chase Lucas
- Trevor Nowaske
- Bruce Irvin
- Darrell Daniels
- Jake McQuaide
- Michael Badgley
- Mo Ibrahim
It’s just an invaluable spot to have if you’re a player that wants to someday make a 53-man roster. Some of these guys are on 53-man rosters right now and others could be brought back to the Lions practice squad soon. It’s because of what they were able to show during their elevations.
The problem is that there’s only 16 players invited to this party and the Lions may fill most of those spots with guys that they have already watched on their team this offseason.
Still, it’s safe to say there’s a chance that there could be more open spots than there has been in recent memory since there’s a good amount of players that just didn’t show they had it this offseason and the Lions just may be done with them. We’re guessing there’s 5-6 spots open for players that weren’t already Lions.
Keep an eye out for who makes the Lions practice squad this year and how much they are elevated. The Lions could be showing you who they plan to put on their 53-man roster in the future.