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Yes, it's way too early in the offseason to start making predictions about the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster. The Lions haven't even held their rookie minicamp yet, and they still have OTAs, a mandatory minicamp, training camp and the preseason before they have to make a decision about their 53-man roster. In other words, a lot could happen in the coming months.
With all that said, we at least have a general idea about what the Lions' 53-man roster could look like going into the 2015 regular season, so here's our first prediction of the year:
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QB Matthew Stafford QB Dan Orlovsky QB Kellen Moore QB Anthony Boone RB Joique Bell RB Ameer Abdullah RB Theo Riddick RB George Winn RB Zach Zenner RB Rasheed Williams FB Michael Burton FB Emil Igwenagu WR Calvin Johnson WR Golden Tate WR Jeremy Ross WR Corey Fuller WR TJ Jones WR Ryan Broyles WR Andrew Peacock WR Skye Dawson WR Vernon Johnson WR Desmond Lawrence |
TE Brandon Pettigrew TE Eric Ebron TE Joseph Fauria TE Jordan Thompson TE Casey Pierce OT Riley Reiff OT LaAdrian Waddle OT Cornelius Lucas OT Corey Robinson OT Michael Williams OG Laken Tomlinson OG Larry Warford OG Manny Ramirez OG Al Bond OG Torrian Wilson C Travis Swanson C Darren Keyton C Taylor Boggs C Braxston Cave |
DE Ziggy Ansah DE Jason Jones DE Darryl Tapp DE Devin Taylor DE Larry Webster DE Phillip Hunt DT Haloti Ngata DT Tyrunn Walker DT Gabe Wright DT Caraun Reid DT Jermelle Cudjo DT Xavier Proctor DT Roy Philon DT Kerry Hyder LB DeAndre Levy LB Stephen Tulloch LB Tahir Whitehead LB Josh Bynes LB Kyle Van Noy LB Travis Lewis LB Julian Stanford LB Brandon Copeland LB Jerrell Harris LB Kevin Snyder |
CB Darius Slay CB Rashean Mathis CB Alex Carter CB Bill Bentley CB Josh Wilson CB Quandre Diggs CB Nevin Lawson (PUP list) CB Mohammed Seisay CB Crezdon Butler S Glover Quin S James Ihedigbo S Isa Abdul-Quddus S Don Carey S Nate Ness S Isaiah Johnson S Brian Suite K Matt Prater K Kyle Brindza P Sam Martin LS Don Muhlbach |
On offense, wide receiver and the offensive line were the two toughest position groups to figure out. At wide receiver, for example, I ultimately ended up leaving Ryan Broyles off the roster. If it were up to me, I'd take Broyles and cut Jeremy Ross, but based on the Lions' apparent view of these two players, I just don't think there's room for Broyles going forward. Struggles aside, Ross is still currently the Lions' returner, and I expect TJ Jones to see the field now that he's healthy.
On the offensive line, there are really two spots up for grabs at this point. At offensive tackle, I gave seventh-round pick Corey Robinson the edge over Michael Williams. I could see that going in the other direction, but either way, the player who gets cut will probably end up on the practice squad. Moving inside, I have undrafted free agent Al Bond making the team over Darren Keyton and the other interior linemen. With Manny Ramirez able to serve as a backup at both guard and center, the Lions can simply go with the interior lineman with the highest upside for their final O-line spot, and Bond seems to be that player right now. It wouldn't surprise me if they bring in another veteran as extra depth at some point before training camp, though.
On defense, cornerback was the only position that I really had to think about. That's mainly because the Lions have four nickelbacks and room for likely only three of them, and you can make a strong case for each player. Bill Bentley was the Lions' starting nickelback last year before he got hurt, for example, and Nevin Lawson was set to take over the starting job before he got hurt a week later. Josh Wilson, meanwhile, is a veteran who got an $80,000 signing bonus and $200,000 guaranteed overall to sign with the Lions, and Quandre Diggs is a sixth-round pick with a lot of upside. With no injuries, either Bentley or Wilson (despite the contract he got) would probably be the odd man out, but considering both Bentley and Lawson are coming off season-ending injuries, I could see one of them ending up on the PUP list. Bentley tore his ACL, while Lawson suffered a nasty foot injury. Admittedly, I have no information on how far along either player is in their recovery process, but I could see the Lions creating a spot by going the PUP list route.
If the Lions don't end up going the PUP list route, then they're going to have a really tough decision to make at cornerback. Then again, by the time the preseason arrives and training camp has been underway, perhaps that decision will no longer be quite as tough. One or two of those nickelbacks could separate themselves from the pack once summer arrives, and perhaps a new injury will open up a spot. It's still way too early to tell, but it's always fun to speculate.