Saturday open thread: How many wide receivers should the Lions carry?

The Detroit Lions’ cuts got underway on Friday, as the team prepares to whittle the roster down to 53 men by the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Saturday. The team faces difficult decisions all along the roster, but none maybe more tricky than their situation at wide receiver.

All training camp, eyes were on the likes of TJ Jones, Jared Abbrederis and Jace Billingsley to see who would justify a roster spot and who would have to find employment elsewhere in 2017.

At the crux of the debate is another key question: How many receivers should the team carry? Last season, the Lions only had four receivers all year on the 53-man roster, but they also didn’t seem to have as much talent at the position as they do now.

About a month ago, we polled readers about this issue and 51 percent said they think the Lions should only carry four receivers again, while 47 percent said they should keep five. Now that we’ve had the benefit of watching all the preseason games, it’s time to ask the question again.

How many wide receivers should the Lions carry on their 53-man roster in 2017?

My answer: Four. At one point during the preseason, you could have convinced me to keep five on the roster, but the final preseason game was eye-opening for me. Billingsley and Abbrederis both had poor games when they needed to shine the most.

I don’t think either player brings special teams skills that are irreplaceable, and while they are decent receiving options for a fifth pass catcher on the roster, the truth is they would almost never get the opportunity to do so when buried so deep. The Lions barely used a fourth wide receiver on offense last year, which means there will almost certainly be no opportunities for a fifth in 2017.

Billingsley will likely make a good addition to the practice squad again, and I don’t think he did enough this preseason to warrant a waiver claim from another team.

Your turn.