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Depending on if Thursday night's game against the Buffalo Bills produces any changes that need to made, this could be my final Detroit Lions 53-man roster prediction of 2013. Let's get right into it.
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QB Matthew Stafford QB Shaun Hill QB Kellen Moore 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 Corey Fuller WR Micheal Spurlock |
TE Brandon Pettigrew TE Tony Scheffler TE Michael Williams TE Joseph Fauria OT Riley Reiff OT Corey Hilliard OT Jason Fox OT LaAdrian Waddle OT Kevin Haslam OG Rob Sims OG Larry Warford OG Jake Scott OG Dylan Gandy OG Rodney Austin OG Darren Keyton C Dominic Raiola C Leroy Harris |
DE Ziggy Ansah DE Jason Jones DE Israel Idonije DE Willie Young DE Devin Taylor DT Ndamukong Suh DT Nick Fairley DT C.J. Mosley DT Justin Bannan 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 Chris White LB Rocky McIntosh LB Brandon Hepburn LB Jon Morgan |
CB Chris Houston CB Darius Slay CB Jonte Green CB Bill Bentley CB Rashean Mathis CB Ron Bartell CB Chris Greenwood S Glover Quin S Louis Delmas S Don Carey S John Wendling S Amari Spievey S Tyrell Johnson S Martavius Neloms K David Akers P Sam Martin P Blake Clingan LS Don Muhlbach |
Changes to the 53-man roster
Joseph Fauria in, Matt Willis out - It's not clear how long Michael Williams will be out with a broken hand, but his injury was the driving force behind my decision to give the Lions four tight ends. I like what I've seen out of Willis in the preseason, but he'd likely end up contributing on special teams more than anything. As a result, I elected to keep Fauria, giving the offense another potential target for Matthew Stafford.
Dylan Gandy in, Rodney Austin out - I honestly have no clue which backup interior offensive linemen are going to make the team. The Lions have rotated Gandy, Austin, Jake Scott and Leroy Harris so frequently that I haven't been able to get a read on which two are the favorites to make the team as backups. Originally I figured the Lions would keep Austin because of his upside, but I'm leaning in the direction of stashing him on the practice squad. This would allow the Lions to keep Scott, who has been impressive as of late as a backup guard, and the versatile Gandy.
Chris White in, Rocky McIntosh out - Just because the Lions traded for him doesn't mean White is going to make the team, but I do expect him to be included on the 53-man roster for his prowess on special teams.
Rashean Mathis in, Chris Hope out - I expected Hope to make the Lions' 53-man roster before he was released, but the emergence of Mathis as a viable backup at cornerback and safety mixed things up. Now I have Mathis making the team, and I nearly dropped Ron Bartell in favor of Chris Greenwood. For now, I'm sticking with Bartell despite the inclusion of Mathis, leaving Greenwood for the practice squad.
Practice squad projection
Speaking of the practice squad, here are the eight players I have projected to be signed to it by the Lions:
RB Steven Miller
FB Shaun Chapas
WR Corey Fuller
WR Kris Durham
OG Rodney Austin
DT Jimmy Saddler-McQueen
LB Brandon Hepburn
CB Chris Greenwood
Usually the Lions bring in some players from other teams for this, but based strictly on my roster cuts, those are the eight I would expect to be kept around as members of the practice squad.