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While it’s way too early to declare any winners in training camp battles, a lot has changed in a week’s worth of time. The Detroit Lions have finally taken the practice field and our Pride Of Detroit staff has gotten a good look at the 2017 team.
With that in mind, we are going to revisit the players on the roster bubble—like we’ll do every week of the preseason. We’ll do this to check in on camp battles, but to also see how our opinions change from week to week.
Below are our best predictions for whether these “bubble” players will make the Lions’ final 53-man roster. At the bottom of each chart, you’ll see a number representing the change in “in” votes.
For a look at our pre-training camp Bubble Watch, click here.
2017 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 | Out | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | Out |
| Alex Reno | In | Out | Out | In | 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 | Out | In | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | In | In | Out |
| Justin Simon | In | Out | In | Out | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | In | Out | In |
| Mike Payton | In | Out | Out | In | In | In | Out | Out | Out | In | In | Out |
| Andrew Kato | In | Out | Out | In | 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 | Out | In | Out | In | Out | Out | Out | In | Out | In |
| Change | 0 | -1 | 2 | -2 | -1 | 0 | -2 | N/A | 2 | N/A | 0 | 1 |
This week, we added Storm Norton to the bubble, since he earned himself a day’s worth of first-team reps at left tackle. Though he’s made some progress, he still doesn’t have many believers out of the POD staff. Only two believe the undrafted rookie will make the final 53-man roster.
The big movers this week were TJ Jones and Cornelius Lucas. Jones has looked particularly impressive during camp, adding a few pounds to his frame and looking like the reliable receiver and returner Detroit has been seeking for a while now. Cornelius Lucas likely has more believers simply because Corey Robinson remains on the PUP list and has yet to practice.
Elsewhere, our staffers are jumping off the Dwayne Washington bandwagon and welcoming Matt Asiata to the roster. Justin Simon is the sole Washington believer at the moment.
2017 Bubble Watch - Defense
| POD Staffer | DE Brandon Copeland | DE Jeremiah Valoaga | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POD Staffer | DE Brandon Copeland | DE Jeremiah Valoaga | 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 |
| Jeremy Reisman | In | Out | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Alex Reno | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Kent Lee Platte | Out | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In | Out | In |
| Chris Lemieux | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Justin Simon | Out | In | Out | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | In |
| Mike Payton | In | Out | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | Out | In |
| Andrew Kato | Out | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | In | In |
| Ryan Mathews | In | In | Out | In | In | Out | Out | In | In | Out |
| Kyle Yost | In | In | Out | In | In | In | Out | In | In | In |
| Change | -2 | N/A | 0 | 0 | N/A | -2 | -1 | 0 | -5 | 2 |
This week we added Jeremiah Ledbetter to the bubble watch, and he’s already a unanimous pick to make the final roster. That likely comes at the expense of Khyri Thornton, who is now a unanimous cut after an uneventful week of training camp and a pending suspension.
This week’s big winner on defense was Alex Carter, who made a believer out of the large majority of the staff. After a week of promising training camp reports, Carter earned three more “ins” from the staff.
Faith in Jamal Agnew, who now is a unanimous “in,” has resulted in a big drop for Quandre Diggs. Four POD staffers turned their vote into an “out” after five practices.
Somehow, even less people know who Ego Ferguson is this week. Don’t expect him on next week’s list.