Tag: Brandon Joseph

Potential worries about the 2024 Detroit Lions: The safety spot

1st up in the series of potential Lions pitfalls: The Lions safeties could be among the best in the league, but there are legit questions about the new-look crew

In one week, the Detroit Lions kick off their 2024 season. It’s one of the most anticipated seasons in Detroit history, with perhaps the highest expectations ever for the team.

And rightly so.

The defending NFC North champions were within a half of making the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Nearly all the key pieces from that 12-5 team return. GM Brad Holmes and his crew prominently addressed the two biggest weaknesses that held back the 2023 Lions, namely the pass coverage and pass rush, in an offseason that local and national pundits widely lauded.

These Lions figure to be among the NFL’s best in 2024. They’re top contenders to win it all, led by a head coach in Dan Campbell, who has proven quickly to be among the best in the game. Like every other contending team, these Lions do have some vulnerabilities.

They extend beyond the vague existential dread of losing All-Pro players to injury; no team can claim immunity from the injury bug, not even the deepest in the NFL–which these Lions might be at many positions (RB, LB, TE).

What are some issues that could derail the highly promising Lions season?

They’re not fun to think about, but there are some concerns about Detroit heading into the 2024 campaign. First up in the series: the safeties.

It’s a group with a lot of potential, headlined by second-year standout Brian Branch, who is moving from slot corner to full-time safety. Last year’s starting postseason tandem, Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu, are both back too. Yet there are questions about the moving parts in Aaron Glenn’s revamped secondary and more man-coverage-oriented scheme. 

Safeties

Moving Branch to a full-time safety role is a very smart move. It keeps Detroit’s top defensive playmaker and budding star on the field all the time, something that he couldn’t do while playing the slot as a rookie. Branch is poised to thrive in an expanded role, one he played at Alabama and did so exceptionally enough to earn high first-round draft grades. 

As for the rest of the safety room, there are questions.

Kerby Joseph has been sporadically outstanding in a cover safety role in his first two seasons. He will make plays. He will also give up plays, between his tendency to overestimate his own closing speed and his unreliable tackling. Joseph has battled some injuries, notably a hip issue that required surgery.

Joseph has worked on those weaknesses, but it’s different at meaningful game speed against receivers he doesn’t see in practice in offenses he doesn’t frequently practice against. He’s going to be playing more single-high safety in 2024, based on the offseason looks we got at Aaron Glenn’s secondary. It should suit No. 31 well. Should…

Iffy

Ifeatu Melifonwu got bumped from his starting role by Branch despite a torrid finish to the 2023 season. “Iffy” really clicked as a box safety late in the year, effectively blitzing and stuffing runs. His short-area coverage and ball skills also shone. From Week 14 to Week 18, Melifonwu had the fourth-best overall PFF grade of all safeties. 

That big spike in Melifonwu’s play coincided with him finally being healthy and put in an appropriate role for the first time in his three-year career. Prior to that, the oft-injured safety had just 20 tackles and two passes defended, no sacks or TFLs in Detroit’s previous 24 games. He bounced between outside CB and a dual safety role that weren’t great fits, aside from being a fixture on the weekly injury reports.

Melifonwu is once again injured, and his status to start the season is unknown. He had struggled throughout training camp in covering anything or anyone that wasn’t in front of him in the more man-heavy scheme. Melifonwu could be the best third safety in the league. Health and role will matter a lot, however.

Deeper depth

The depth behind the top three is completely unproven. An undrafted rookie from the 2023 practice squad, Brandon Joseph is a coverage specialist. The preseason was a very fitting performance nutshell for No. 40’s game; Joseph pulled down an interception and thwarted some pass attempts with savvy positioning and quick reactions in coverage. He destroyed a swing pass by doing so. He also ran past several tackle attempts, notably diving at Cordarrelle Patterson’s long-since-gone feet in the Steelers game–one of three missed tackles by Joseph in that game.

This year’s undrafted rookie, Loren Strickland, is a freight train of a hitter but a major work in progress in coverage in jumping from Ball State to the NFL. Strickland showed quick progress in training camp, moving from the bottom of the depth chart to push veteran CJ Moore off the roster.

GM Brad Holmes eschewed chasing after available, affordable veteran safeties like Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs and Xavier McKinney, trusting his own existing safety room. It’s a gamble that upgrading the cornerbacks and pass rush in front of them will make life easier and give Branch, Joseph and Melifonwu more of a chance to shine. 

All could be fine on the safety front. Could be.

5 key players to watch in Lions preseason finale

5 key players to watch in Lions preseason finale, from Hendon Hooker to Brandon Joseph

The final preseason game is all about sorting out the Detroit Lions depth. Very few of the players who will ever matter in a regular season game–unless necessitated by injury–will play in the Lions exhibition finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those battling for the bottom of the roster spots, practice squad berths or auditioning for their next football destination, it’s a very big day. There’s still a ton to play for and take away for so many players.

These five stand out as ones to really watch in Detroit’s matchup with Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

Hendon Hooker

Hooker is efforting to prove he can be the No. 2 quarterback, earning the trust from the coaching staff to take over for Nate Sudfeld in the primary reserve role behind Jared Goff. He had a very strong performance in leading Detroit’s comeback win over the Chiefs a week ago, and another game full of good decisions, accurate passes and timely runs would go a long way for Hooker.

Giovanni Manu

Manu, like Hooker, is in no danger of being cut. But the raw rookie offensive tackle desperately needs reps to get up to as fast of a speed as he can. The message from the team has been consistent from the second the Lions drafted Manu: 2024 is a redshirt season for the giant Tongan who played Canadian college basketball until discovering football.

Manu had a very solid performance in Kansas City, and he’s shown technical improvement in practices. He’s still incredibly green, but the progress could be enough that Manu can at least be active in a game and play as an extra tackle in packages in the regular season. Continued growth and confidence against the Steelers would be great to see.

Mitchell Agude

Dan Campbell brought up Agude during the week, and it’s important to heed the coach’s words:

“I see growth. We like Mitch. Mitch, he’s another guy, just busts his rear, he gives you everything he’s got out there, and he’s got some rush ability. He’s strong, quick off the edge. And look, we moved him to SAM linebacker last week, so we kind of made that change. ‘Let’s put him at SAM and move (Lions LB James) Houston to more D-end.’ So, we flopped those two. And it’s not necessarily the perfect position for Mitch, but he’s made the most of it, and he’s trying to make it work, and that’s a credit to him. But he still has enough of that where he can play the D-end position and really excel at what he does best, so he’s doing a good job. We like Mitch.”

Agude is fighting for one of those very last spots on the roster. He’s outplayed James Houston and Mathieu Betts all summer — rather emphatically in my eyes. If Agude proves he can handle his business at a new spot after a crash course week of practice, it’s a big feather in his cap. That reserve SAM spot behind Derrick Barnes is Agude’s for the taking.

Donovan Peoples-Jones

Despite repeated challenges to “step up,” it just hasn’t happened for Peoples-Jones in his quest to earn the No. 4 receiving job. The Lions have invested the most in making No. 19 win that spot, both in terms of money and time. I still believe that one big game can reward Detroit’s tested patience in Peoples-Jones and keep him on the roster.

Brandon Joseph

The second-year safety has shown considerable all-around improvement this summer. Joseph has been rewarded by earning first-team reps at safety ahead of Ifeatu Melifonwu when both have been healthy (Melifonwu is currently dealing with another injury), and No. 40 keeps picking off passes and blowing up quick slants. The Steelers bring a very different type of offensive dynamic to Detroit. If Joseph plays well against the different look, it’s going to be hard to knock him from that No. 3 safety role. But if he struggles–notably in decision-making in space–that role swings right back to a healthy Melinfowu, who is a better tackler and blitzer.

Film Review: Safety Brandon Joseph continues to increase chances of making the 53-man roster

Lions Film Review: Safety Brandon Joseph continues to increase chances of making the 53-man roster, from Russell Brown

Back in 2020, Brandon Joseph exploded onto the scene for the Northwestern Wildcats. He was a redshirt freshman and earned First-Team All-American honors and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He finished 2020 with 52 total tackles, two pass deflections and six interceptions. Despite another strong season in 2021 with 80 total tackles and three interceptions, we didn’t see Joseph enter the NFL Draft as a redshirt sophomore.

Instead, we saw Joseph enter the transfer portal and he found his way to Notre Dame. In 10 games for the Fighting Irish, he didn’t look like the same player. He was no longer making one-handed interceptions in the Big Ten Championship and just wasn’t around the football the way he was doing before.

Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, Joseph didn’t blow up the Scouting Combine. His vertical jump was 30.5 inches, and his 40-yard dash was 4.62 seconds. That 40-yard dash time was tied for 4th-slowest of any defensive back and his vertical jump was the lowest of any defensive back at the Combine that year.

The less-than-ideal performance was a contributing factor to him being undrafted to the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite spending most of his entire rookie season on the practice squad, Joseph did play 14 special teams snaps between weeks 3 and 4 (Atlanta and Green Bay) last season.

With a season under his belt, Joseph is doing his best to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot in Detroit this summer. It’s been a strong camp for him and adding to that, he had a strong performance against the New York Giants in week one of the preseason. Let’s dive into some tape to look at what he could provide the Lions on defense this season.

During Lions training camp, one of the big things that Dan Campbell wanted to see from Brandon Joseph was for him to be more physical. Against the Giants, he showed that from time-to-time and he finished with three tackles in that game.

Looking at the play above, you’ll see the Giants come out in an unbalanced formation to the left of the defense. With an additional offensive tackle and tight end to the right of the quarterback, you’ll see Brandon Joseph (#40) move down towards the box.

Prior to the snap, the quarterback motions a receiver towards the offensive line. Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see Joseph fly up field and lower his shoulder into the receiver. Making himself difficult to block, Joseph creates enough separation to fit into a potential cutback lane for the running back. Sure enough, he meets the running back and contributes to making the tackle.

Lastly, I want to focus on Joseph being in the right place at the right time. Looking at the play above, the Lions defense is running Cover 1-Hole. All linebackers and defensive backs are playing man coverage except for Joseph. He’s aligned as the strong safety and he “funnels left” into the “hole.”

In this instance, he sits about 10-12 yards off the ball and reads the quarterback and the three receivers to his side. Sitting in the passing window of a post route, Joseph reads this one perfectly and is able to intercept this pass. With a good return, he flips the field and gives the ball back to the offense with good field position to potentially score.

Overall, there’s much to be desired with Joseph from his college tape to now. He has the ball skills to make plays and as you can see, he’s not afraid to get physical and tackle. The hope is that this will carry into the rest of the Lions preseason games and if it does, I’d anticipate for him to make the Lions 53-man roster.

Last season, we saw the Lions have three safeties listed “officially” at safety with Tracy Walker III, Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu. They also had Brian Branch and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, but they were listed as nickelbacks for the defense.

This season, the question will be if the Lions roster will have three safeties or four safeties in their secondary? Despite Brian Branch having the versatility to play in the slot, he’s listed as a safety with Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu. If the Lions are looking for that 4th safety to allow Branch more freedom to roam around the defense, then I’d look for Joseph to be part of their plans this season.

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Detroit Lions News, Notes and Thoughts from Preseason Game 1

Detroit Lions News, Notes and Thoughts from Preseason Game 1 from Lions Wire’s Russell Brown

In a wet and rainy game against the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions lost 14-3 in their first preseason game. We can equate this loss to the Lions not playing their starters but the weather was certainly a factor for both teams. We saw the weather cause muffed punts and players slipping on attempted tackles.

But these aren’t excuses and at halftime, Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn’t make excuses. He acknowledged the weather and needing better execution from the offense. Talking with Lions reporter Dannie Rogers  asked about the offense and he said, “Look offensively, we’ve got to make some plays. We’ve got a wet one here but when we need some plays, we need to make some plays.”

Offensive Notes

It was an uneventful night for quarterback Nate Sudfeld. He wasn’t efficient with the ball in his hands and as he extended plays beyond the pocket, he would hold the ball for too long. Rather than checking the ball down, running it or throw it away, he’d get outside of the pocket and still get sacked.

As Campbell said, they needed the offense to make some plays. So he turned the football to quarterback Hendon Hooker in the second half and this led to some plays being made. On his second drive with the offense, Hooker led the Lions 88 yards down the field on a 14-play drive.

This drive stalled when Hooker had a slight overthrow to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the corner of the end zone on the 3rd down. It was great effort by Peoples-Jones, who did his best to replicate an Odell Beckham Jr., one-handed catch in Metlife Stadium but he wasn’t able to secure the pass. Ultimately, this led to the Lions going for it on 4th-and-goal and not getting it.

On both drives that Hooker played in the 3rd quarter, his mobility really stood out. He ran the ball 4 times for 34 yards. His longest run was for 16 yards and he trucked a Giants defender on his way for the first down.

Throwing the ball, Hooker finished 5-for-9 for 36 yards and he showed good rapport with UDFA receiver Isaiah Williams. They connected on consecutive plays during the 14-play drive in the 3rd quarter. After that drive, Hooker came out of the game and was being evaluated for a concussion. This led to Sudfeld coming back into the game and finishing the 4th quarter.

Outside of the quarterbacks, the rest of the offense was a mixed bag. Some players stood out, and others needed a lot of work. On the offensive line, there appeared to be some miscommunications that led to defensive linemen being unblocked, or defensive backs piercing into the backfield to wrap up running backs before they could make a move.

The one running back that looked pretty good was Sione Vaki. His first carry went for 15 yards and he made an impressive cut to gain the additional yardage. He finished with 29 yards rushing on four carries. If he’s able to stack performances like this, he could emerge as the 3rd running back for this offense.

That said, I’d still be surprised if Craig Reynolds doesn’t make the roster. Despite only having 11 yards on four carries, Reynolds had consecutive runs that led to 8 yards during the Lions’ second drive of the game. Despite having three straight carries on that drive, Reynolds played on the punt team and he ran down to make the tackle.

Defensive Notes

While there were only a few bright spots on offense, the Lions defense played well for the most part. Early in the game, the Lions defense saw big plays made from rookie Ennis Rakestraw and free agent acquisition Amik Robertson.

On the opening kickoff, Robertson made the first tackle of the game. In addition to that, he had a pass breakup on that opening drive. To top that off, Ennis Rakestraw made a great tackle on 3rd down and this led to the Giants punting on their opening drive.

For the defensive line, we saw plenty of James Houston in the first half. He did have two tackles and a QB hit. There was a moment in that first half where he got away with hitting Drew Lock late near the sideline. As for other defensive linemen, it was a strong showing for Nate Lynn, Isaac Ukwu and Brodric Martin.

Leading the way, Martin had four total tackles and two pass deflections. He almost had a sack but he let Tommy DeVito slip through his hands. Fortunately, Nate Lynn was there and he made the sack on DeVito.

It was a strong first showing for Lynn as he had two sacks, two QB hits and a sack. The Lions defense only recorded two sacks against the Giants and the other sack was made by Ukwu. He showed decent bend while running the arc to bring down Drew Lock.

Other bright spots on the defense were linebackers DaRon Gilbert and Malik Jefferson. Starting with Jefferson, he had a strong showing in the second half with six tackles and a tackle for loss. He made some tackles on special teams as well.

As for DaRon Gilbert, what a fun story he’d be for the Lions. He’s undrafted out of Northern Illinois but a Detroit native that played at Birmingham Brother Rice High School in Michigan. He started getting in a groove in the second quarter with good positioning and multiple tackles. If he made the Lions 53-man roster, he’d have the entire city behind him.

The Lions do have five linebackers already locked onto the roster. Those players are Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. But if they’re open to having a 6th linebacker on the roster, it feels like it’ll come down to Jefferson or Gilbert.

The last roster spot I want to focus on is the 4th safety spot. As I mentioned in my game one preview, the Lions will have an important decision to make on who the 4th safety will be after Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

The experienced player is C.J. Moore and he recorded three tackles in this game. However, he did slip while attacking downhill during a run by Giants running back Eric Gray. With Moore missing, this gave Gray plenty of running room as he took it to the house. Later in the game, Moore was limping in the end zone on the Giants second touchdown of the game. It looked like a possible knee or ankle injury but nothing has been mentioned of an injury at this time. Either way, it’s still worth monitoring.

As for the competition with Moore, there are two other players to really keep tabs on with Morice Norris and Brandon Joseph. Starting with Norris, he had three tackles but none of the tackles were like the one he made in practice earlier this week.

The standout for the 4th safety spot was Brandon Joseph. He had three tackles, a pass breakup and an interception. On the interception, he jumped a route over the middle of the field and looked like his old self at Notre Dame. If the Lions can get him playing like that again, what an addition that would be for the Lions secondary and special teams.

Final Thoughts + Injury Notes

Overall, it was far from pretty for the Lions but it wasn’t horrible. Again, that’s expected with no starters playing. There were a lot of positives with some skilled players on offense but ultimately, the defense played really well outside of two drives. Improving the defense was important for the Lions this off-season. Despite a quiet three series for first round pick and presumed starter Terrion Arnold, the depth of the defense appears to be taking shape. We’ll see if that carries over to the rest of the season.

The Lions did have a few players get banged up in this game. Offensive lineman Connor Galvin got rolled up on and had to be carted off with a knee injury. Receiver Antoine Green went to block a Giants defender but he essentially got launched to outer space and left the game with a concussion. Earlier, I mentioned that Hendon Hooker is in the concussion protocol. Lastly, we did see defensive tackle David Badda go down with an achilles injury.

After the game, it was confirmed by Dan Campbell that Badda and Galvin probably suffered some long term injuries. Those will be worth monitoring as the Lions still have two preseason games to play. Next Saturday, the Lions will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Oh, and, yes, kicker Jake Bates did hit a 53-yard field goal in the first quarter.

How will Notre Dame use Northwestern transfer Rod Heard II?

How will Notre Dame use Rod Heard II? A little bit of every way it seems…

Notre Dame spent their spring short a starting safety as transfer [autotag]Rod Heard II[/autotag] was finishing up his time as a Northwestern student down the street.

Heard II follows the same path [autotag]Brandon Joseph[/autotag] took a couple years ago, starring at Northwestern before ending up in South Bend.  So what does Heard bring to the mix for Notre Dame’s already talented secondary?

“Being able to maximize and make plays in all different phases of the game, I think that’s what makes me a special player,” the grad transfer said in late June. “I want to maintain that.”

“All these (interior) spots are kind of interchangeable now anyway,” said Heard, listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds. “I think that’s why they wanted me here, because I still have the ability to play the nickel, play safety, play zone coverage, play man coverage and all that.

It seems to be a little bit of everything is what Heard will bring.

Lions minicamp offers young safeties a chance to prove themselves

Lions minicamp offers young safeties like Brandon Joseph, Chelen Garnes and Loren Strickland a chance to prove themselves

This week’s mandatory minicamp at the Detroit Lions training facility in Allen Park is the only time between the end of the season and the start of training camp when all the Lions players will be required to be in attendance. Several of those players are recovering from injuries and won’t be able to participate, however.

Two of those are starting safeties, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. Both are in the process of rehabilitating from off-season leg surgeries and their absence in the secondary was particularly noticeable during the recent OTA sessions.

Joseph is the team’s top coverage safety, largely responsible for the single-high looks and deep-field roaming. Branch was outstanding as the Lions’ slot DB as a rookie, and he does pull some duty as a free safety in some packages, too. Without them in the lineup, the coverage issues with the rest of the safety room were starkly evident in last week’s practice.

Ifeatu Melifonwu is an effective starter as a box safety, but range and anticipation in coverage are not where he wins. He’s more of an attack dog, at his best blitzing and aggressively playing the run and routes in front of him. The arrow is pointing up for Melifonwu, but his limitations in man coverage and more split-safety looks were exacerbated without Branch and Kerby Joseph playing with him.

Brandon Joseph, a 2023 UDFA from Notre Dame, was the other starter with Melifownu last week. Known for his coverage ability in college, Joseph is one of a few young safeties who could seize opportunities in minicamp with the injuries above them on the depth chart.

For Joseph and 2024 undrafted rookies Chelen Garnes and Loren Strickland, there will be considerable reps to show what they can do. Veteran CJ Moore is back after missing 2023 due to a gambling suspension, and he’ll also have chances to prove he can be more than just a special teams asset–his primary role in his first tour of duty in Detroit.

It’s the thinnest position on the roster–on paper, anyway. Garnes, Joseph and Strickland could help ameliorate some serious depth concerns at safety for the Lions. Garnes, from Wake Forest, is more in the Melifonwu mold, a strong tackler with a powerful build and good closing burst to the ball carrier in the run game. He was the second-team safety behind Melifonwu during last week’s practice that was open to the media.

Strickland was the same sort of player during his college career at Ball State. It can be difficult for those types of players to make a positive impact in practices where tackling and hitting aren’t permitted. Even so, the opportunity and minicamp reps are there for someone to step up and seize a bigger role in the Lions defense.

Tom Kennedy among 11 players signed to reserve/future deals by the Lions

The Detroit Lions signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts, including WR Tom Kennedy and OT Connor Galvin

One of the first orders of business for all teams in the offseason is to sign players to reserve/future contracts. With the Lions season not ending until after the NFC Championship game, it took longer than other years.

The Lions added 11 players to reserve/future deals on Tuesday. A reserve/future contract is a commitment by the team to bring the players back with a chance to compete for spots in the coming season. Typically, they are players coming off the practice squad or unsigned street free agents who had some connection to the team.

The biggest name is wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who has been on and off the Lions roster since the 2019 season.

The full list:

  • LB Mitchell Agude
  • WR Maurice Alexander
  • OL Matt Farniok
  • RB Jake Funk
  • OT Connor Galvin
  • CB Craig James
  • S Brandon Joseph
  • WR Tom Kennedy
  • OL Michael Niese
  • DT Chris Smith

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Lions make roster moves to reinforce the blocking for Week 4

Lions make roster moves ahead of Week 4, including Matt Nelson to I.R. and some practice squad elevations

The Detroit Lions made a series of roster moves ahead of Thursday’s matchup in Green Bay with the Packers. Injuries to the offensive line forced the changes.

As head coach Dan Campbell indicated would happen earlier in the week, reserve offensive tackle Matt Nelson was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He will be out a minimum of four weeks.

Replacing Nelson on the active 53-man roster is tight end Darrell Daniels. A blocking specialist, Daniels has been on the Lions practice squad. This move was previously reported by Daniels’ agent.

Finally, the Lions elevated two undrafted rookies from the practice squad to the active roster. Offensive tackle Connor Galvin and safety Brandon Joseph earned the promotions with injury issues on the roster.

 

 

 

Lions elevate OL Dan Skipper and S Brandon Joseph from the practice squad

Lions elevate OL Dan Skipper and S Brandon Joseph from the practice squad for Week 3

The Detroit Lions have brought up some reinforcements for Sunday’s matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Faced with several injuries across the roster, the Lions elevated some help from the practice squad.

Detroit promoted offensive lineman Dan Skipper and safety Brandon Joseph from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday. It’s the first elevation of the year for both players.

Skipper, who re-signed with the Lions practice squad this week, will help bolster the offensive line depth. Left tackle Taylor Decker and RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai are ruled out for the game in Ford Field.

Joseph, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame, will make his NFL debut on the active roster. Starters C.J. Gardner-Johnson (on I.R.) and Kerby Joseph (inactive with a hip issue) are out at safety.

Predicting the 22 remaining Detroit Lions roster cutdowns

The Detroit Lions have 75 players on the active roster as of noon Monday and have to be down to 53 by 4 p.m. Tuesday

It’s almost time for the Detroit Lions initial 53-man roster to be set for the 2023 regular season. The team has already trimmed several players from the 90-man preseason limit, but there are more cutdowns to be made.

As of 12 p.m. ET on Monday, the Lions have 75 players still on the active roster. That leaves 22 more players to be removed from the active roster before 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Note that CB Emmanuel Moseley and QB Hendon Hooker are not currently on the active roster, so they don’t factor in. WR Jameson Williams begins serving his suspension after the cutdowns, so he’s not involved either.