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With the Detroit Lions completing their mandatory minicamp, their offseason training program has come to an end. The next time they take the field as a team, it will be for training camp. At that point, with on-field work taking place on a daily basis, we will start to get a better idea of what the Lions' 53-man roster might look like.
In the meantime, here's a post-minicamp guess at the Lions' 53-man roster (my picks to make the team are bolded/underlined):
QB Matthew Stafford QB Dan Orlovsky QB Kellen Moore QB James Franklin RB Reggie Bush RB Joique Bell RB Theo Riddick RB Mikel Leshoure RB Montell Owens RB Steven Miller FB Jed Collins FB Chad Abram WR Calvin Johnson WR Golden Tate WR Ryan Broyles WR Jeremy Ross WR Kevin Ogletree WR TJ Jones WR Kris Durham WR Corey Fuller WR Patrick Edwards WR Cody Wilson WR Naaman Roosevelt WR Andrew Peacock |
TE Eric Ebron TE Brandon Pettigrew TE Joseph Fauria TE Jordan Thompson TE Jacob Maxwell OT Riley Reiff OT LaAdrian Waddle OT Corey Hilliard OT Cornelius Lucas OT Michael Williams OT J.B. Shugarts OG Rob Sims OG Larry Warford OG Rodney Austin OG Darren Keyton OG D.J. Morrell OG Alex Bullard OG A.J. Dalton C Dominic Raiola C Travis Swanson |
DE Ziggy Ansah DE Jason Jones DE Devin Taylor DE Darryl Tapp DE Larry Webster DE George Johnson DE Kalonji Kashama DT Ndamukong Suh DT Nick Fairley DT C.J. Mosley DT Caraun Reid DT Andre Fluellen DT Jimmy Saddler-McQueen DT Xavier Proctor DT Greg Hickman LB DeAndre Levy LB Stephen Tulloch LB Kyle Van Noy LB Ashlee Palmer LB Tahir Whitehead LB Travis Lewis LB Cory Greenwood LB Julian Stanford LB Brandon Hepburn LB Justin Jackson |
CB Darius Slay CB Rashean Mathis CB Bill Bentley CB Chris Greenwood CB Nevin Lawson CB Cassius Vaughn CB Chris Houston (PUP list) CB Jonte Green CB Aaron Hester CB Mohammed Seisay S Glover Quin S James Ihedigbo S Don Carey S DeJon Gomes S Isa Abdul-Quddus S Jerome Couplin S Gabe Lynn K Nate Freese K Giorgio Tavecchio P Sam Martin LS Don Muhlbach |
On offense, my picks are the same as they were in May. I nearly made some changes by adding Kellen Moore as the Lions' third quarterback, but I just didn't see the value in keeping someone who may not even dress for a single game over a guy like Kevin Ogletree, who could provide extra depth at wide receiver. I suppose having Ryan Broyles on the PUP list would free up a spot for a third quarterback, but he took part in OTAs and the recent minicamp. At this point, Broyles looks like he should be ready for the start of the regular season.
On defense, I made a few changes. At linebacker, I swapped out Cory Greenwood for Travis Lewis, and I added Bill Bentley at cornerback and subtracted Jonte Green. I also decided to add Cassius Vaughn to the 53-man roster after putting Chris Houston on the PUP list to start the regular season. Considering he has been absent from recent offseason activities while recovering from toe surgery, Houston will almost certainly begin training camp on the PUP list. And unless he is 100 percent recovered and up to full speed by the start of September, it might make sense for the Lions to free up a spot at cornerback by keeping him on the PUP list for the first part of the regular season.
As training camp kicks off next month and the preseason begins, it will be a bit easier to make predictions about the Lions' 53-man roster. For now, though, what does your 53-man roster look like?