Roster cutdowns can be an opportunity to build up a roster. Players who didn’t make one team, for whatever reason, might wind up being a good fit for another. For the Detroit Lions and GM Brad Holmes, it’s an opportunity to potentially churn the bottom of the roster even after the initial 53-man unit has been established.
Waiver claims right after the roster cutdown aren’t terribly common. but they do happen. This is how the Lions added Romeo Okwara to the roster back in 2017. There is now an opportunity for another player or two to join Okwara as a roster cutdown waiver claim who can become a long-term Lion.
The Lions are 18th in the waiver wire order by virtue of their 9-8 finish in 2022; the waiver wire order is based on the final result of the prior season at this point. Remember: players claimed on waivers go directly to the 53-man active roster, which means someone who initially made the Lions would have to be removed from the active roster — be it a cut or a move to the injured reserve.
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While I don’t expect the Lions to be very active on the waiver claim front, there are a few players who got cut by other teams that could fit roles in Detroit. Here are some that stand out as players GM Brad Holmes could go after.