NFL roster cuts: Lions players react to the team’s moves

It was an emotional weekend for the players of the National Football League. A handful of players beat the odds and completed their dreams of landing on an NFL roster. However, for nearly 700 player across the league, their pursuit of a football career hit a snag. The Detroit Lions alone cut ties 21 players over the weekend, but brought back seven of those to the team’s practice squad. The emotional roller coaster of that journey was caught on social media. Here’s a scattering of those moments.

Many hoped cornerback Alex Carter’s career would finally take off after disappointingly losing his rookie year to injury. Things didn’t work out that way, as the Lions ended up waiving the young player. However, Carter joined the team’s practice squad on Sunday and appears thankful for the opportunity.

Not many gave Incarnate Word’s Cole Wick much of a chance to make the final roster when the Lions signed the undrafted free agent tight end. But after a slew of injuries and some impressive play in the preseason, Wick beat the odds. He’s very excited:

Fan favorite Jace Billingsley didn’t make the final 53-man roster, much to the chagrin of the Pride Of Detroit staff, but he was brought back to the practice squad and is ready to get to work:

Zach Zenner wasn’t ever much of a question to make the final roster, but he took the time to be thankful of the moment anyways:

Let’s take a moment to celebrate the career of Don Carey. For a player that has mostly contributed on special teams, he’s had an amazingly long career. Carey is one of four Lions on the current roster that have been with the team since 2011. Considering how short typical NFL careers are and how quickly teams overturn their roster, this is a true accomplishment. Carey doesn’t seem to take that for granted:

Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday weren’t as happy for a bunch of NFL players. For Chase Farris and Jay Lee, it meant searching elsewhere to keep their football careers alive. They’re both keeping their head high:

We wish all of the Detroit Lions players, former and current, a good luck for the 2016 season.