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Lions 53-man roster prediction: Pre-Jaguars game edition

Who will make the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster? Here's my pre-Jacksonville Jaguars game guess.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It's time for another Detroit Lions 53-man roster prediction. Take a look:

QB Matthew Stafford
QB Dan Orlovsky

QB Kellen Moore
QB James Franklin

RB Reggie Bush
RB Joique Bell
RB Theo Riddick
RB George Winn
RB Mikel Leshoure
RB Steven Miller

FB Jed Collins
FB Montell Owens

FB Chad Abram

WR Calvin Johnson
WR Golden Tate
WR Ryan Broyles
WR Kris Durham
WR Jeremy Ross

WR TJ Jones (PUP list)
WR Kevin Ogletree
WR Corey Fuller
WR Pat Edwards
WR Andrew Peacock
WR Conner Vernon
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 A.J. Dalton

OG Rob Sims
OG Larry Warford
OG Rodney Austin

OG Garrett Reynolds
OG Darren Keyton
OG Alex Bullard
OG Bryce Quigley

C Dominic Raiola
C Travis Swanson

DE Ziggy Ansah
DE Jason Jones
DE Devin Taylor
DE Larry Webster
DE George Johnson
DE Darryl Tapp

DE Kris Redding

DT Ndamukong Suh
DT C.J. Mosley
DT Nick Fairley
DT Caraun Reid

DT Andre Fluellen
DT Jimmy Saddler-McQueen
DT Xavier Proctor
DT Gregory Hickman

LB DeAndre Levy
LB Stephen Tulloch
LB Kyle Van Noy
LB Ashlee Palmer
LB Tahir Whitehead
LB Travis Lewis

LB Julian Stanford
LB Brandon Hepburn
LB Shamari Benton
CB Darius Slay
CB Rashean Mathis
CB Bill Bentley
CB Cassius Vaughn
CB Chris Greenwood
CB Nevin Lawson
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 Nate Ness

K Giorgio Tavecchio
K Nate Freese

P Sam Martin
P Drew Butler

LS Don Muhlbach

(You can see my pre-preseason 53-man roster prediction here.)

Changes to the 53-man roster

DE George Johnson in, RB Mikel Leshoure out - I know there has been a lot of talk about George Winn potentially beating out Mikel Leshoure for a roster spot (here included), but I don't have either player making the team. With Montell Owens able to play running back and fullback and contribute on special teams, I have him as the final back on the roster. This frees up a spot for George Johnson and allows the Lions to keep 10 defensive linemen.

WR Kris Durham in, WR Kevin Ogletree out - Rather than use that extra spot to keep both Kris Durham and Kevin Ogletree, I simply opted for Durham over Ogletree. It was really a coin flip type of decision since the two players are so even, and keeping both of them would have been simpler. However, do the Lions really need six receivers? Reggie Bush and Theo Riddick will both likely get time in the slot and out wide, as will Eric Ebron. Considering that sixth receiver would need to contribute on special teams to even be active, I just think there's more value in having added depth on the D-line and at linebacker. (If I had decided to go with six receivers, chances are I would have released Travis Lewis to make room for Ogletree, but Lewis brings more to the table from a special teams standpoint.)

CB Chris Greenwood in, CB Jonte Green out - This is another coin flip type of decision. Neither player has really emerged over the other, but just from seeing what's happened in the preseason, I get the feeling that Chris Greenwood has a better chance of sticking around than Jonte Green.

K Giorgio Tavecchio in, K Nate Freese out - I was all set to keep Nate Freese as the Lions' starting kicker simply because he has gotten all of their first-half reps so far this preseason. Giorgio Tavecchio has actually been slightly more consistent, but based on the initial preseason rotation, it seemed like Freese still had the edge at kicker. This week, however, the Lions are planning to have Freese and Tavecchio rotate opportunities instead of each player just getting a half, and I view this as Tavecchio's chance to take control of the starting kicker job.

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