Final 53-man roster predictions: No room for Rudock, Lions keep 10 defensive linemen

Roster cuts are ever nearer and after Thursday night's impressive performance across the board, Detroit Lions coaches and general manager Bob Quinn have a near-impossible task ahead of them. Because the task is so daunting and because we all love roster predictions, we're going to hit you with three different 53-man roster predictions.

I'm the boss, so I go first.

Players currently on roster: 75
QB Matthew Stafford	TE Eric Ebron	DE Ziggy Ansah	CB Darius Slay
QB Dan Orlovsky	TE Orson Charles	DE Devin Taylor	CB Nevin Lawson
QB Jake Rudock	TE Cole Wick	DE Wallace Gilberry	CB Quandre Diggs
	TE Adam Fuehne	DE Anthony Zettel	CB Johnson Bademosi
RB Ameer Abdullah	TE Andrew Quarless	DE Brandon Copeland	CB Darrin Walls
RB Theo Riddick			CB Alex Carter
RB Zach Zenner		DT Haloti Ngata	CB Adairius Barnes
RB Dwayne Washington	OT Riley Reiff	DT Tyrunn Walker	CB Charles Washington
RB George Winn	OT Taylor Decker	DT Caraun Reid
	OT Michael Ola	DT A'Shawn Robinson	S Glover Quin
FB Michael Burton	OT Cornelius Lucas	DT Khyri Thornton	S Rafael Bush
	OT Corey Robinson	DT Kerry Hyder	S Tavon Wilson
WR Marvin Jones	OT Luke Marquardt	DT Gabe Wright	S Miles Killebrew
WR Golden Tate		DT Stefan Charles	S Don Carey
WR TJ Jones	OG Laken Tomlinson		S Isaiah Johnson
WR Anquan Boldin	OG Larry Warford	LB DeAndre Levy
WR Andre Roberts	OG Joe Dahl	LB Tahir Whitehead	K Matt Prater
WR Jay Lee	OG Brandon Thomas	LB Josh Bynes
WR Jace Billingsley		LB Kyle Van Noy	P Sam Martin
WR Quinshad Davis	C Travis Swanson	LB Antwione Williams
	C Graham Glasgow	LB Jon Bostic	LS Don Muhlbach
	C Gabe Ikard	LB Khaseem Greene
	C Lemuel Jeanpierre	LB Zaviar Gooden
		LB Jayson DiManche

QBs

I know, I know. You all wanted Jake Rudock on the final roster, but this team has too many needs at other positions to use a roster spot on a third-string quarterback. I know a lot of people don't believe Rudock will make it through waivers, but I absolutely think he will.

Practice squad: Jake Rudock

WRs

I know, I know. You wanted Jace Billingsley or Jay Lee on the final roster, and I do too. But how the Lions used their receivers in the final preseason game was the most telling. TJ Jones didn't even play, an indication that he's essentially a lock for the team. And while Andre Roberts did play, the Lions shuffled him to the sidelines pretty quickly after a couple of series with the faux first-team offense.

Billingsley and Lee balled out on Thursday, and they deserve to keep their NFL dreams alive. I think the Lions are going to try to get both back on the practice squad, but they'll be happy if they can grab one of the two.

Practice squad: Jace Billingsley, Jay Lee

RBs

Kudos to George Winn for fighting until the very end. Winn ran with a purpose in the fourth quarter against the Bills and managed to do a lot of damage. Sadly, I think his fate was already written.

Practice squad: George Winn

TEs

This was an easy call for me. Eric Ebron is moving well enough to believe he'll be ready for Week 1, and Cole Wick didn't play on Thursday, showing that he has a roster spot locked up. Andrew Quarless didn't exactly shine in the final preseason game, but he had a good block on Washington's long run. Quarless will essentially serve in a role similar to that of Brandon Pettigrew with the team after he returns from his suspension.

But I predict Quarless will spend the first two weeks on the suspended list, opening up the opportunity for another tight end to make the team. Enter: Orson Charles. Charles probably won't be part of the long-term plans for the Lions, but since the Lions are simply looking for someone to fill the role for two weeks, Charles' experience will come in handy.

OT

Cornelius Lucas had all of the opportunities in the world to impress over the final two preseason games, but he continued to struggle at tackle. This prediction assumes that Michael Ola's injury isn't as bad as it may seem. The Lions also took a look at Joe Dahl at tackle against the Bills, so even if Ola isn't ready to go right away, the Lions have some insurance.

Practice squad: Corey Robinson

G

Everybody makes it! Newbie Brandon Thomas, you're the new Geoff Schwartz.

C

Not much has changed after Graham Glasgow jumped Gabe Ikard on the depth chart, although Glasgow's injury could complicate things.

Practice squad: Gabe Ikard

DE

Here's where things get tricky. I just went back and forth on Brandon Copeland vs. Anthony Zettel three times. In the end, I saw Zettel improve every single game of the preseason while Copeland's inconsistencies seemed to stand out. However, I still had the two essentially tied for a roster spot. The thing working in Copeland's favor is that he is still practice squad eligible, and has spent two years on it before. He's more likely to make it through waiver, in my opinion, than Zettel is.

Practice squad: Brandon Copeland

DT

No other position on the roster came with the set of difficult decisions that defensive tackle has. I do not envy the Lions' front office. In the end, the Lions have to keep six defensive tackles, especially if you consider Kerry Hyder, the best defensive player on the field on Thursday, a tackle. Hyder really plays both tackle and end, but really shined at end against the Bills. He and Khyri Thornton managed to somehow supplant Gabe Wright and Stefan Charles, two players who were near-locks before the start of training camp. I don't know if Wright will make it to a practice squad, but the Lions will try like hell to get him there.

Practice squad: Gabe Wright

LB

Assuming Jon Bostic is headed to the injured reserve list, as Dave Birkett is reporting, that leaves the Lions with a pretty easy decision. Antwione Williams has continued to improve and looks more confident on the field. However, the Lions are left in a tough situation here, because Zaviar Gooden, Khaseem Greene and Jayson DiManche are all not eligible for the practice squad. Considering the nature of injuries at the linebacker position, this would leave the Lions a little vulnerable.

CB

Alex Carter hasn't done much to earn a spot on the roster, but neither has anyone underneath him. Charles Washington had a breakup or two on Thursday, but it just hasn't been enough to unseat Carter. The Lions aren't very deep at the position, so Carter will get another shot to develop in practice.

Practice squad: Charles Washington

S

Don Carey is an interesting case. I have the Lions keeping 11 defensive backs just to keep Carey and his unique special teams talents on the roster. That may be a bit overkill at the position, considering Johnson Bademosi and Tavon Wilson both bring similar talents, but Wilson may be fighting for a starting job at this point, and Carey remains the Lions 2015 special teams MVP. I don't think Detroit will shed themselves of that talent this year.

Practice squad: Isaiah Johnson

And here's my 10-man practice squad prediction:

• QB Jake Rudock
• RB George Winn
• WR Jace Billingsley
• WR Jay Lee
• OT Corey Robinson
• C Gabe Ikard
• DE Brandon Copeland
• DT Gabe Wright
• CB Charles Washington
• S Isaiah Johnson