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Trades, plays and depth chart reveals were all responsible for a fair amount of movement in this week’s Bubble Watch. The Detroit Lions made a significant trade for linebacker Eli Harold, causing disruption among both the linebackers and defensive end groups. Guys like Hakeem Valles and Brandon Powell made impressions against the Buccaneers, causing many to reconsider the makeup of this depth chart. And certain players didn’t even play last week, causing their stock to drop.
Here’s a look at the Pride of Detroit staff’s opinion on the players stuck on the roster bubble:
Week 4 Bubble Watch offense
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Kent Lee Platte | Justin Simon | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Alex Reno | Chris Perfett | Hamza Baccouche | Mansur Shaheen | John Whiticar | Andrew Kato | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Kent Lee Platte | Justin Simon | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Alex Reno | Chris Perfett | Hamza Baccouche | Mansur Shaheen | John Whiticar | Andrew Kato | Change |
| QB Jake Rudock | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT :( | 0 |
| QB Matt Cassel | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 0 |
| RB Ameer Abdullah | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 2 |
| RB Zach Zenner | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -2 |
| WR Jace Billinglsey | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -2 |
| WR Teo Redding | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -3 |
| WR Brandon Powell | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT(PS) | OUT | OUT | OUT | 1 |
| TE Hakeem Valles | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | in and also TE2 | IN | IN | 6 |
| TE Michael Roberts | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT(PS) | IN | IN | IN | N/A |
| G Kenny Wiggins | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 1 |
| G Joe Dahl | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | -1 |
| G Wesley Johnson | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | N/A |
| G/C Leo Koloamatangi | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 2 |
| T Corey Robinson | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 1 |
| T Brian Mihalik | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -1 |
Note: PS denotes practice squad for Hamza’s choices
New to bubble watch: Michael Roberts (trending down), Wesley Johnson (trending down)
Biggest winners: Hakeem Valles (+6), Ameer Abdullah (+2), Leo Koloamatangi (+2)
Biggest losers: Zach Zenner (-2), Jace Billingsley (-2)
We are all part of the Hakeem Valles hive now. Thanks to yet another impressive preseason performance—and partially with the first-team offense this time—Valles is a consensus IN among the staff right now. He’s also likely positively impacted by Luke Willson’s mysterious knee injury, but even without it, Valles has proved he earned that roster spot.
I threw in Michael Roberts in the bubble watch this week to see if anyone thought Valles would take his spot completely or if they believed the Lions would roll with four tight ends. Only one thinks Roberts is out.
Elsewhere, Ameer Abdullah is back to a full consensus in, while Zach Zenner’s late appearance in Tampa did nothing to help his case. Jace Billingsley, who missed a full week of practice and the game, is now a consensus out as well.
Week 4 Bubble Watch defense
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Kent Lee Platte | Justin Simon | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Alex Reno | Chris Perfett | Hamza Baccouche | Mansur Shaheen | John Whiticar | Kyle Yost | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Kent Lee Platte | Justin Simon | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Alex Reno | Chris Perfett | Hamza Baccouche | Mansur Shaheen | John Whiticar | Kyle Yost | Change |
| DE Jeremiah Valoaga | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -9 |
| DE Alex Barrett | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 2 |
| DE Cam Johnson | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | OUT | N/A |
| DT Christian Ringo | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| DT Jeremiah Ledbetter | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 0 |
| LB Eli Harold | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | N/A |
| LB Jonathan Freeny | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 3 |
| LB Chad Meredith | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT (PS) | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| LB Freddie Bishop | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -3 |
| LB/S Miles Killebrew | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 0 |
New to Bubble Watch: Eli Harold (trade), Cam Johnson (trending up)
Off the Bubble: Charles Washington (in), Rolan Milligan (out)
Biggest winners: Jonathan Freeny (+3), Alex Barrett (+2)
Biggest losers: Jeremiah Valoaga (-9), Freddie Bishop (-3)
There wasn’t a ton of movement on the defensive bubble, outside of the Eli Harold trade. The entire staff thinks Harold is already a roster lock, and the person he seems to be pushing out is Jeremiah Valoaga.
Interestingly, Valoaga has been a consensus IN for a couple of weeks now. But after the Harold trade, and the fact that Valoaga did not even play against the Buccaneers, he has quickly convinced everyone he’s the odd man out. For those that still have Valoaga in, Freddie Bishop is the one pushed out by Harold’s addition.
Cam Johnson, who got a significant amount of playing time with the first string on Friday, has convinced about half of the staff that he’ll be around in September. While Jonathan Freeny picked up three more believers, returning to preseason action after missing the Giants game.