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With the preseason finally underway, the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster is starting to come into focus. The Lions have one game in the books -- a 26-17 win over the New York Jets -- leading to some changes to my 53-man roster prediction. Admittedly, the alterations from my last prediction are pretty minimal, but that could change as the preseason continues and we get more and more information about what the Lions' roster may look like.
Here's my post-Jets game 53-man roster prediction:
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QB Matthew Stafford QB Shaun Hill QB Kellen Moore QB Thaddeus Lewis RB Reggie Bush RB Mikel Leshoure RB Joique Bell RB Montell Owens RB Theo Riddick RB Steven Miller FB Shaun Chapas WR Calvin Johnson WR Nate Burleson WR Ryan Broyles WR Patrick Edwards WR Matt Willis WR Kris Durham WR Mike Thomas WR Corey Fuller WR Micheal Spurlock WR Chaz Schilens WR Terrence Austin WR Cody Wilson |
TE Brandon Pettigrew TE Tony Scheffler TE Michael Williams TE Joseph Fauria TE Matt Veldman OT Riley Reiff OT Corey Hilliard OT Jason Fox OT LaAdrian Waddle OT Austin Holtz OT Derek Hardman OG Rob Sims OG Larry Warford OG Rodney Austin OG Dylan Gandy OG Jake Scott OG Darren Keyton C Dominic Raiola C Leroy Harris |
DE Ziggy Ansah DE Jason Jones DE Israel Idonije DE Willie Young DE Devin Taylor DE Ronnell Lewis DE Braylon Broughton DT Ndamukong Suh DT Nick Fairley DT C.J. Mosley DT Jimmy Saddler-McQueen DT Andre Fluellen DT Ogemdi Nwagbuo DT Xavier Proctor LB Stephen Tulloch LB DeAndre Levy LB Ashlee Palmer LB Tahir Whitehead LB Travis Lewis LB Cory Greenwood LB Brandon Hepburn LB Jon Morgan LB Adrian Moten |
CB Chris Houston CB Darius Slay CB Jonte Green CB Bill Bentley CB Ron Bartell CB Chris Greenwood CB Ross Weaver CB D.J. Johnson CB DeQuan Menzie CB Brandon King CB Myron Lewis S Glover Quin S Louis Delmas S Don Carey S Chris Hope S John Wendling S Amari Spievey S Tyrell Johnson S Martavius Neloms S Trevor Coston K David Akers K Havard Rugland P Sam Martin P Blake Clingan LS Don Muhlbach |
Changes to the 53-man roster
Theo Riddick in, Steven Miller out - Riddick led all Lions running backs with 22 offensive snaps on Friday against the Jets, and he received a lot of praise from coaches and teammates in the days leading up to the game. It seems the Lions really like Riddick's potential, so I decided to keep him as their fifth running back. In turn, I pushed Miller off the 53-man roster, mainly because I feel like Patrick Edwards can take care of the return duties.
Matt Willis in, Kris Durham out - This could be a classic case of overreacting to one game, but Willis was outstanding on Friday. He caught 3 passes (a couple of which were ridiculous grabs) for 51 yards and a touchdown, and he also had 9 snaps on special teams. That was more than double any of the other wide receivers. He seems to have the perfect combination of catching ability and special teams talents that the Lions like in their fifth receiver, and I decided to swap out Durham for him.
Jimmy Saddler-McQueen in, Andre Fluellen out - The battle for the fourth spot at defensive tackle is looking like it could actually be pretty interesting. Saddler-McQueen, Fluellen and Ogemdi Nwagbuo all received a significant number of snaps on Friday, and Saddler-McQueen led the way with 30 on defense. He recorded a sack during the Jets game, and he did a nice job of applying pressure to the quarterback. As a result, I decided to keep him over Fluellen.