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Now that the preseason is over, it’s time to look at the Detroit Lions roster bubble. It seems like the bubble is bigger this year than any other year, and, unfortunately, that’s not a good thing. There haven’t been any depth players that have played consistent enough to warrant a “lock” status, and therefore there are probably 5-10 roster spot open for nearly 20 different players.
So here is our staff’s thoughts on the players remaining on the roster bubble and their status going into cut weekend.
Final 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 | 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 |
| QB Jake Rudock | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | BYE, "FELICIA" | OUT | RIP | AHHHHHHHH | OUT | 0 |
| QB Matt Cassel | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | HHHHHHHHH | IN | 0 |
| RB Ameer Abdullah | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 1 |
| RB Zach Zenner | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| WR Jace Billinglsey | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| WR Teo Redding | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| WR Brandon Powell | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -1 |
| TE Hakeem Valles | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 0 |
| TE Michael Roberts | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | -2 |
| G Kenny Wiggins | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 4 |
| G Joe Dahl | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 2 |
| G Wesley Johnson | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | -1 |
| G/C Leo Koloamatangi | IN | OUT | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | -5 |
| T Corey Robinson | OUT | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | -3 |
| T Brian Mihalik | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 1 |
Biggest winners: Kenny Wiggins (+4), Joe Dahl (+2)
Biggest losers: Leo Koloamatangi (-5), Corey Robinson (-3)
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of changes along the offensive line, as the Lions shook up their lineup yet again in the preseason finale. Wesley Johnson (-1) and Leo Koloamatangi (-5) played a ton of snaps on Thursday, indicating their status may not be safe.
Also, Corey Robinson’s injury has some people jumping ship, even though he was a unanimous in for nearly all of training camp.
Elsewhere, a few people have Michael Roberts on the outside looking in after getting more action in the preseason finale than breakout tight end Hakeem Valles.
Final 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 | IN | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | 2 |
| DE Alex Barrett | OUT | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | -2 |
| DE Cam Johnson | IN | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | IN | OUT | -1 |
| DE Anthony Zettel | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 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 | 0 |
| LB Jonathan Freeny | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | IN | IN | -4 |
| LB Chad Meredith | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 |
| LB Freddie Bishop | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 1 |
| LB/S Miles Killebrew | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 0 |
| LB Trevor Bates | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | N/A |
New to Bubble Watch: Anthony Zettel (trending down), Trevor Bates (trending up)
Biggest winners: Jeremiah Valoaga (+2), Freddie Bishop (+1)
Biggest losers: Jonathan Freeny (-4), Alex Barrett (-2)
Surprisingly little change in the defensive layout from our staff this week. After missing last week’s preseason game, Valoaga apparently won over some of our staff with the 20 snaps he played against the Browns.
Meanwhile, the fact that Jonathan Freeny nearly played for the entire game sent a clear message that he shouldn’t be as comfortable as most of us expected. Now only seven of 11 staff members have him on the inside.
Despite playing for a ton of snaps in the preseason finale, the staff still believes Anthony Zettel is in... except for Justin Simon. Conversely, after sitting Thursday night, we all think Miles Killebrew has nothing to worry about and is a consensus IN.