clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Lions Roster Prediction (Second Edition)

For any new readers of Pride of Detroit, click here to register an account that allows you to leave comments, write FanPosts, or add FanShots to this blog.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Join POD today!

In my second Lions roster prediction, injuries have shaken things up a bit.  Also, with one preseason game out of the way, we all got a chance to get a look at some of the "on the bubble" players, and that has resulted in a change or two as well compared to the first edition.  I'll explain my decisions later on, but first take a look below for my second prediction (players in italics mean there is a change from the first edition).

Active Roster
Players Cut
Pos. # Player # Player
QB 5
Drew Stanton
None
6
Dan Orlovsky
8
Jon Kitna
RB 28 Tatum Bell 29 Brian Calhoun
34
Kevin Smith
44 Artose Pinner
36
Aveion Cason
- -
FB 40 Jon Bradley 45 Jerome Felton
49
Sean McHugh
WR 11 Roy Williams 10 Brandon Middleton
80 Devale Ellis 15 Taye Biddle
81 Calvin Johnson 16 John Standeford
84 Shaun McDonald 17 Kenneth Moore
87 Mike Furrey 19 Ron Bellamy
TE 82 Casey FitzSimmons 83 John Owens
86 Michael Gaines
89 Dan Campbell
OT 72 George Foster 74 Damion Cook
73 Jonathan Scott
76 Jeff Backus
77 Gosder Cherilus
C 51 Dominic Raiola 67 Andy McCollum
OG 61 Frank Davis 65 Carroll Madison
63 Manny Ramirez
64 Edwin Mulitalo 71 Corey Hulsey
66 Stephen Peterman
DE 92 Cliff Avril 70 Victor DeGrate
93 Corey Smith
95 Jared DeVries 90 Claude Harriott
97 Ikaika Alama-Francis 94 Rudolph Hardie
99 Dewayne White
DT 75 Shaun Cody 98 Landon Cohen
78 Cory Redding
79 Langston Moore
91 Chuck Darby
96 Andre Fluellen
LB 50 Ernie Sims 41 Leon Joe
52 Anthony Cannon
53 Paris Lenon 46 Tyrone Pruitt
55 Buster Davis
57 Jordon Dizon 54 Gilbert Gardner
59 Alex Lewis
CB 21 Travis Fisher 33 Dovonte Edwards
23 Keith Smith 35 LaMarcus Hicks
25 Brian Kelly 38 Ramzee Robinson
30 Leigh Bodden 39 Kiwaukee Thomas
- - 43 Stephen Howell
S 24 Greg Blue None
26 Dwight Smith
27 Daniel Bullocks
32 Kalvin Pearson
42 Gerald Alexander
K 4 Jason Hanson 3 Dave Rayner
P 2 Nick Harris None
LS 48 Don Muhlbach None

The first difference as we go down the table is that I swapped Sean McHugh and Jerome Felton.  Originally I figured Felton had the edge since he is a true fullback, but McHugh, despite being listed as a tight end on the Lions' roster, was ahead of Felton on the depth chart at fullback for last week's preseason game.  McHugh is one of those players that can play both fullback and tight end, so his versatility is undoubtedly a plus.  We'll have to see if he and Felton swap spots on the depth chart in the coming weeks as that will give us the best idea of who is staying and who is going.

Newcomer Damion Cook, an offensive tackle, was just recently signed, so that is why his name is in italics.  Someone who is also in italics is linebacker Buster Davis.  In my first prediction I explained that it was a tossup between Davis and Teddy Lehman, and ultimately I opted for Lehman due to his versatility.  As I figured, an injury made this decision for me this time around as Lehman was placed on the injured reserve a week ago, opening up the door for Davis.

The final change to the 53-man roster comes at the expense of another injury.  Stanley Wilson is done for the season after suffering an injury against the Giants, and as a result he is now on the injured reserve.  That opened up another spot on the active roster, and I actually decided to give it to a safety instead of a cornerback.  Carrying only 4 corners is unusual, but the Lions have safeties that can play the role of nickel corner, meaning there is some crossover that allows fan favorite Greg Blue to join the team.

Other differences are the additions of cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas and kicker Dave Rayner, who will both end up on the cut list barring an injury.  Obviously Rayner could make the team if Jason Hanson isn't healthy enough to be the starting kicker when the season begins, but let's just hope that doesn't happen.  Not only would it create depth issues at other positions, but Hanson being injured to that extent would be a cause for concern by itself.

I'll make a third and final roster prediction two weeks from now as that'll come a day before the deadline to trim rosters down to 53 players, meaning by then we should have a general idea of which players will make the cut.  Until then, feel free to leave your thoughts on my prediction as well as any predictions you may have.

NEW: Join Pride of Detroit Direct

Jeremy Reisman will drop into your inbox twice a week to provide exclusive, in-depth reporting and insights from Ford Field. Subscribe to go deeper into Lions fandom, and join us on our path to win the Super Bowl.