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Updated Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection after two weeks of training camp
Detroit Lions training camp will wrap the second week of action on Saturday. It’s a good point to recalibrate the depth chart and reevaluate the 53-man roster projection.
There are a few changes to the prediction after 10 days of practice. Injuries have caused some unfortunate shifts, as have on-field performances — positive and negative. There are some leanings here that reflect what I’ve seen and heard in training camp, too.
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As training camp opens, here are our best predictions to what the initial 53-man roster will look like come end of August. Who are the veteran cuts? | From @KDDrummondNFL
The smell of real actual football activity is in the air as the Dallas Cowboys have arrived in Oxnard, CA. The annual trek west signals the start of training camp and Mike McCarthy has his work cut out for him to avoid this being the final year he’s with the organization. If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it’s exactly how we started last year’s roster prediction.
Now entering Year 4, McCarthy is now solely in charge of the offense, with former coordinator Kellen Moore off to Los Angeles. Maybe he’ll drive up the coast for a visit.
A disappointing 2020 was followed by a scintillating start to 2021, only for things to disintegrate down the stretch. Eventually, the Cowboys were the only home team to lose during wild-card weekend and the funk has been cast over the team ever since.
That can all change, starting Wednesday with the first practice. Over the next several weeks, leading to three preseason contests, players will work their way up and down depth charts in hopes of making the final 53-man roster. This is a prediction of how all those things will play out, with the obvious caveat that injuries will dictate some of these battles more than talent.
Projecting the Detroit Lions 53-man roster for 2023 after minicamp and OTAs
The offseason activities and minicamp have come to an end for the Detroit Lions. After the open practice sessions, it feels like we have a better grasp on the Lions roster and how it might shake out when the final cuts down from 90 to 53 may look.
Here’s my early stab at what the initial 53-man roster will look like after the final preseason game and the end of training camp.
Lions offensive depth chart projection after the 2023 NFL Draft and Detroit’s new additions
With the 2023 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, the Detroit Lions have a much clearer picture of what they could do this year. Despite the interesting choices, the Lions got better, not worst. From the choices made on offense to defense, the Lions could surprise more teams than expected.
Much of the team’s success will rest on this offensive group and the shoulders of quarterback Jared Goff. If Goff plays up to par, there’s no reason to believe that the Lions won’t make a push to the playoffs. Let’s jump into each position to predict what the Lions offense could look like during the 2023 season!
Projecting the initial 53-man roster for the Detroit Lions at the NFL roster cutdown deadline
Training camp and the preseason have come and gone. The Detroit Lions, like all other NFL teams, have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 30th to reduce the roster from the current 80 down to 53.
Sunday’s preseason loss in Pittsburgh impacted a couple of projections here, changes from the last set of predictions.
Note that this is a “what I think will happen” projection and not a “what I would do” scenario…
Breaking down our final Saints 53-man roster and practice squad projection after training camp and the preseason finale, via @RossJacksonNOLA:
As the New Orleans Saints wrap up their preseason action, focus now turns to the final round of roster cuts. By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 30 all teams across the league must trim their rosters down to 53 players. After which, more moves and changes will surely be made.
Wide receiver, linebacker, running back and, following a serious injury to rookie left tackle Trevor Penning, the offensive line all take center stage. But more storylines are worth watching as well, including the tough decision to be made around quarterback Ian Book who impressed in the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Some players, like Book, did themselves some favors Friday night furthering their case to make the roster. New Orleans will have some tricky decisions to make leading up to Tuesday’s deadline and more to follow. Here is a projection of what the initial 53-man roster may look like at each position, some possible impending transactions thereafter and a swing at the 16-man practice squad as well.
Whittling down the offseason roster is a tough job. We’re here to help the Cowboys staff make the important decisions. | From @KDDrummondNFL
The Dallas Cowboys have completed their exhibition schedule and now have until 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday to whittle their offseason roster down to the regular season version. Dallas will have a 53-man roster, like all other teams and depending on one decision will have either a 16-man or 17-man practice squad to form the following day.
Breaking down the current 81-man offseason roster, it feels as if the Cowboys have 45 guys who have secured a place, another six who are more-than-likely names and then four players who will be part of a returnable-IR shuffle on Tuesday into Wednesday. Of the six more-than-likelies, those are players who could be involved in trades, or swapped out with guys currently identified as practice squad candidates.
In this prediction, the Cowboys have eight rookies make the big club with another eight on the practice squad. Of the eight on the 53, two are UDFAs while two drafted rooks end up on the practice squad.
Here’s a complete breakdown of how the roster should look come Tuesday.
Campbell went into great detail about how important special teams are in making bottom-of-roster decisions
With roster cutdowns looming before Tuesday’s deadline, Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered some insight into the decision-making process on the roster bubble players.
“Always the tiebreaker is going to be special teams. That’s the first, and I mean if it’s close at all, it needs to be somebody we know can help us on special teams,” Campbell said before Friday’s practice. Campbell put special teams above dependability and trust in his pecking order.
Those words reinforced what Lions coaches have stressed all summer both on and off the record. The bottom-of-roster players must prove they can be assets on punting and kickoff units. Campbell and his staff devoted over a third of Tuesday night’s final padded practice to special teams blocking and coverage drills, and the players attacked it like their jobs depended upon it.
Campbell extrapolated on the value of special teams and positional importance with a later answer in the same press conference.
“The backup safety position is big right now. And as it relates to special teams, the backup linebacker, forget even these guys are jockeying for positions as starters, but also the backend of that, relative to the halfbacks. Who’s going to help us more on special teams? The receivers, relative to the DBs. The tight ends relative to the linebackers or running backs, like who’s going to give us the most bang for our buck on special teams plays a lot into it.
So that’s why I say – like there’s going to be some guys here potentially, I’m looking for a couple of guys on special teams to really – I want to see them light it up and if they do, it may not have anything to do with how good somebody does on offense or defense. Like if they show up the way I think they can on special teams, they’re going to earn a spot. So, that’s just, that’s kind of where we’re at. And that’s why a lot can happen between now and Monday or Tuesday.”
In other words, pay very close attention to the special teams units when the Lions play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final preseason game on Sunday afternoon. For some players (think Tom Kennedy, Justin Jackson, JuJu Hughes, Trinity Benson, Josh Woods among others) it means more than their contributions on offense or defense in terms of their Lions roster destinies…
Atlanta Falcons 53-man roster projection: Mike Ford and Jared Bernhardt make the cut in our latest prediction.
The Atlanta Falcons have one preseason game remaining before the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline. With 80 players currently on the team, the Falcons must cut 27 players by Tuesday.
Here’s our latest 53-man roster projection ahead of final cuts.
Projecting the initial Detroit Lions 53-man roster after the first two preseason games
Now that training camp is about done, two rounds of player cuts are in the books and the preseason finale looms, it’s time to update the Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection.
The Lions helped provide some real clarity in their moves to get to the 80-man roster limit on Tuesday. Moving four players to the reserve/PUP and reserve/NFI lists opened up those four roster posts and showed where the positional holes will be from those moves.
Here’s the latest set of 53-man projections, with a couple of asterisks that I’ll explain too. Note that this is just for the initial 53-man roster. Things change with waiver claims and the players on reserve lists coming back.
