The final round of roster cuts has passed and the Lions spent Sunday finalizing the roster for their week one game against the Chicago Bears. As a result, it's time to take a look at who the Lions got rid of over the weekend en route to establishing their 53-man roster.
RB DeDe Dorsey - Dorsey showed a lot of promise in the preseason, but this was a numbers game at running back and he was simply the odd man out.
WR Tim Toone - It was obvious from watching Toone play in the preseason that he is not quite ready for the show just yet, which is why he was signed to the practice squad. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's on the 53-man roster by the end of the season, though.
WR Mike Moore - Another practice squad player.
WR Brian Clark - I thought he had an outside chance of making the team because of his special teams play, but the Lions didn't keep enough receivers for that to happen.
OT Jon Jansen - I didn't think the Lions would actually get rid of Jansen considering he challenged Gosder Cherilus for the starting job at right tackle, but in the end they opted to keep the younger Corey Hilliard.
OT Cliff Louis - No surprise here.
OG Noah Franklin - No surprise here.
C Dan Gerberry - As expected, Dylan Gandy got the edge as the backup center/guard. Gerberry has been signed to the practice squad again, though.
DE Korey Bosworth - No surprise here.
DT Landon Cohen - Based on what I saw in the preseason, I gave Cohen the edge over Andre Fluellen. Perhaps because of his versatility, the coaches opted for Fluellen over Cohen, who was quickly picked up by Jacksonville.
DT Jaron Baston - No surprise here.
DT Robert Callaway - Callaway was released at the beginning of camp but came back and earned a spot on the practice squad.
LB Caleb Campbell - Everybody was rooting for Campbell to make the roster, but it seemed pretty clear to me he would have to make a stop on the practice squad before that happens, which is why he has been signed to it.
LB Vinny Ciurciu - I thought Ciurciu played well enough at middle linebacker first in place of Jordon Dizon and later in place of DeAndre Levy to make the team, but the coaches opted for guys like Isaiah Ekejiuba and Ashlee Palmer, who can also play special teams and LB.
CB Dre Bly - This was one of the more surprising moves. While I didn't think Bly played out of this world in the preseason, I expected him to make the team. Instead, the Lions went with younger guys rather than the aging Bly.
CB Eric King - This also surprised me, not because King played even remotely well during the preseason, but because I thought he would stick around as a nickel back. When Alphonso Smith was traded for, however, King became expendable.
CB Dante Wesley - I figured Wesley would make the team considering he was in the two-deep and is a good special teams player, but the Lions decided to keep someone like Aaron Berry around instead.
CB Paul Pratt - Pratt was barely edged out for a roster spot, which is why the Lions signed him to the practice squad.
CB Jonathan Hefney - The same goes for Hefney, who was also signed to the practice squad.
CB T.J. Rushing - Rushing was versatile, but not good enough at corner to make the team.
S Ko Simpson - I thought Simpson would make the team instead of someone like John Wendling, but the Lions decided to let the often-injured veteran go.
K Steven Hauschka - I know many fans wanted Hauschka to stick around as a kickoff specialist, but the coaches obviously felt he isn't that much better than Jason Hanson at kickoffs to warrant a spot on the team. I agree, as the Lions don't have enough depth at other positions to take four specialists.
Those players were let go on Friday and Saturday, whereas the following players were either traded on Saturday or released on Sunday.
WR Dennis Northcutt - Many expected Northcutt to be released on Saturday, so it wasn't surprising to see him replaced by Stefan Logan on Sunday.
TE Dan Gronkowski - I am a fan of Gronkowski, but the Lions' top three tight ends have been set for a while, so Detroit decided to get something out of him by trading him to Denver for Alphonso Smith. I think Gronkowski will do well, but this was a good move for Detroit.
LB Rocky Boiman - Boiman was let go in favor of Spencer Havner, who will apparently play linebacker, special teams and some offense for the Lions.