Expect movement with Lions roster next week

Shortly after the Detroit Lions wrapped up their mandatory minicamp in mid-June, they released running back Rasheed Williams and cornerback Bill Bentley, opening up two spots on their roster. One of those spots was quickly filled by safety Taylor Mays, who signed as a free agent, but no other moves have been made since then, leaving the Lions one player short of the 90-man limit.

It remains to be seen what the Lions are planning to do with that vacant roster spot, and it's also unclear when exactly they are going to fill it. I figured they would get back to 90 players weeks ago, but there has been no movement since June. Why the delay? Well, as noted by Tim Twentyman, the Lions may simply be waiting to get a status update on some of their injured players before making any changes to their roster:

They'll likely fill it when guy come back and they see where they are injury wise. https://t.co/4pjYUe3v2a

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) July 20, 2015

The Lions' rookies report for training camp in exactly one week (July 28), and I'm assuming their injured players will report at the same time. At that point, the Lions will be able to determine which players are going to start training camp on the PUP list, and they will also be able to determine which positions need a bit more depth once practice actually begins on Aug. 3.

Around this time last year, by the way, the Lions were actually quite active from a transactions standpoint. They added George Winn and Garrett Reynolds in mid-July, and they also claimed a wide receiver off waivers. Then, once the Lions got closer to training camp, they signed a punter, claimed another receiver off waivers and also added a defensive end. Up to this point, there has been a lot less activity for the Lions this summer, but that should change in the next couple of weeks.