Answering the biggest questions about the 2023 Detroit Lions’ initial 53-man roster

On Tuesday evening, the Detroit Lions trimmed their roster to 53 players. It was an arduous process and one that yielded some surprises along the way. Obviously, the Lions are far from done tinkering their roster—that process never really ends—but on Tuesday night, myself, Erik Schlitt and Ryan Mathews broke down the initial moves the Lions made, and what’s left to make of the roster.

We went position by position, answering both the biggest questions facing the roster and the biggest questions about the moves they made.

Here’s a full guide to our discussion, along with episode timestamps for each position:

Quarterbacks (2:10 — 3:30)

• Does the Lions’ interest in Trey Lance suggest another signing is coming?

Running backs (3:30 — 7:00)

• Is Craig Reynolds coming back? Why would they cut him first?

Wide receivers (7:00 — 10:45)

• Why did Detroit waive Dylan Drummond? Can he make it back to the practice squad?

Tight ends (10:45 — 12:25)

• Who will come back on the practice squad for depth?
• Jason Cabinda was never going anywhere

Offensive line (12:25 — 13:45)

• Detroit opts to keep eight

Defensive tackle (13:45 — 16:25)

• Why did the Lions keep five?
• Is Isaiah Buggs’ starting job up for grabs?
• Brodric Martin a gameday inactive?

Edge defenders (18:20 — 20:35)

• Is Julian Okwara headed to IR? Being shopped for a trade?

Linebackers (20:35 — 23:00)

• Best linebacker depth since....?
• Anthony Pittman is too good as special teams to put on waivers

Defensive backs (23:00 — 33:15)

• When can we expect Emmanuel Moseley in the lineup?
• Why Steven Gilmore/Khalil Dorsey over Starling Thomas?
• Why Chase Lucas came up just short

Kicker (33:15 — 39:00)

• Will Riley Patterson be the Week 1 kicker?
• Who will be the team’s kick returner in 2023?

Listen to our entire conversation below:

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