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We are less than two weeks away from cut day. This year the Detroit Lions and every other NFL team will be forced to cut their 90-man roster down to 53 players without the traditional 75-man cut after the third preseason game.
Being at the halfway point of the preseason means that players on the roster bubble are running out of chances to impress coaches before that cutdown date. Let’s take a look at the status of several Lions players who may or may not make the final roster.
Week 3 Bubble Watch: Offense
| POD Staffer | QB Jake Rudock | QB Brad Kaaya | RB Dwayne Washington | RB Matt Asiata | WR Jace Billingsley | WR TJ Jones | WR Jared Abbrederis | WR Keshawn Martin | TE Cole Wick | TE Tim Wright | T Storm Norton | OT Cornelius Lucas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POD Staffer | QB Jake Rudock | QB Brad Kaaya | RB Dwayne Washington | RB Matt Asiata | WR Jace Billingsley | WR TJ Jones | WR Jared Abbrederis | WR Keshawn Martin | TE Cole Wick | TE Tim Wright | T Storm Norton | OT Cornelius Lucas |
| Jeremy Reisman | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In |
| Alex Reno | In | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In |
| Kent Lee Platte | In | Out | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | In |
| Chris Lemieux | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Justin Simon | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | In |
| Mike Payton | In | Out | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | Out | In | In | In |
| Andrew Kato | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | In | Out | In |
| Ryan Mathews | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Kyle Yost | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | In | Out | In |
| Change | 0 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 1 | -1 | -3 | 4 | 1 | -2 | -3 | 4 |
There were drastic changes this week at the Lions’ skill positions. Everyone is firmly off the Matt Asiata bandwagon and unanimously believe the RB4 job belongs to Dwayne Washington. Washington has been the leading rusher for the Lions this preseason and continues to get reps as a returner on special teams. Asiata has 16 yards on 10 carries.
At wide receiver, there remains confusion and disagreement. After a good special teams outing against the New York Jets, Keshawn Martin went from zero Ins to four. He seemed to take votes away from Jared Abbrederis, who is now a unanimous Out after failing to make an impression on Saturday. Despite suffering a hamstring injury, almost all of Pride of Detroit still believe TJ Jones will make the final roster.
At tight end, Tim Wright lost some believers after sitting out Saturday’s game with an injury. However, Cole Wick also sat out of the same game, so it’s no surprise Wick only gained one more In this week.
Finally at offensive tackle, Storm Norton is losing support quickly. Though Norton has earned plenty of playing time, he hasn’t exactly been effective. Also, Cornelius Lucas returned to practice this week, putting Norton’s job in jeopardy.
Week 3 Bubble Watch: Defense
| POD Staffer | DE Alex Barrett | DE Pat O'Connor | DT Khyri Thornton | DT/DE Jeremiah Ledbetter | CB DJ Hayden | CB Johnson Bademosi | CB Quandre Diggs | CB Jamal Agnew | S Don Carey | S Alex Carter | S Charles Washington |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POD Staffer | DE Alex Barrett | DE Pat O'Connor | DT Khyri Thornton | DT/DE Jeremiah Ledbetter | CB DJ Hayden | CB Johnson Bademosi | CB Quandre Diggs | CB Jamal Agnew | S Don Carey | S Alex Carter | S Charles Washington |
| Jeremy Reisman | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | Out |
| Alex Reno | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | In | Out |
| Kent Lee Platte | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In |
| Chris Lemieux | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In |
| Justin Simon | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In |
| Mike Payton | In | Out | Out | In | In | In | In | In | In | Out | In |
| Andrew Kato | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | Out |
| Ryan Mathews | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out |
| Kyle Yost | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | Out |
| Change | 0 | -7 | -1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | -7 | 4 |
New to Bubble Watch: Safety Charles Washington, trending up
I don’t really have an explanation why, but everyone is off the Pat O’Connor bandwagon after he was a near unanimous In last week. Maybe it’s the confidence in Alex Barrett and Jeremiah Valoaga, maybe it’s Cornelius Washington’s return, maybe it’s the fact that Ezekiel Ansah could be on his way back soon. Still, it’s a little surprising to see him nosedive so hard this week. I didn’t even think he played particularly poorly against the Jets.
Quandre Diggs is trending in the opposite direction after showing off his defensive and special team skills against the Jets. Interestingly enough, the majority of the Pride OF Detroit staff now has the Lions keeping both Diggs and his main competition DJ Hayden.
As a result, Johnson Bademosi and Alex Carter are this week’s losers in the secondary. The Lions will have some really tough choices to make in the secondary, and so far neither Bademosi nor Carter have made many plays in the preseason.
New to this secondary bubble is safety Charles Washington. Once considered a longshot, Washington has started to impress at training camp and the preseason.
Washington, incidentally, has been getting a long look as GQ's backup at FS. I think he's got a decent shot to make the 53 as the 5th safety
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) August 18, 2017
At just 24 years old, Washington brings potential and special teams skills to a position group filled with both. But Washington has been the forgotten one of the group simply because he was an undrafted rookie last year. He still has a long way to go to win a roster spot—only half of the staff is convinced so far—but he’s certainly trending in the right direction.