Tag: Detroit Lions 53-man roster

Two free agent wide receivers that could fit the Detroit Lions

The Lions still have a roster opening, and Russell Brown identifies two available big wide receivers who can help the team

All summer long, we’ve heard about how the Detroit Lions have been looking for a “big-bodied” wide receiver. They tried to make it work with Donovan Peoples-Jones but that didn’t pan out and he was released.

Now, the Lions are down to three wide receivers with experience on their roster. Those three receivers are Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond. Isaiah Williams earned the 4th receiver on the 53-man roster.

It’s unclear if the Lions will carry four or five receivers on the roster now that there is still an opening. Last season, we saw them have five receivers on the roster, but with Josh Reynolds leaving for the Denver Broncos, there’s a void for that “bigger” target.

Certainly, Ben Johnson could identify tight end Sam LaPorta as that bigger target. With that, the Lions coaching staff could be content with just those four receivers I listed. Add in the tight ends they use and the idea of carrying four running backs (David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki) and this passing attack may just be okay.

But let’s say the Lions coaching staff wants another receiver. If that’s the case, there are two receivers that were cut today that could be worth looking at for their roster. Those two receivers are Noah Brown and the other is Terrace Marshall Jr.

Starting with Noah Brown, he’s a veteran receiver entering his 7th season in the NFL. Originally drafted as a 7th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2017 NFL Draft, he hit free agency last year and signed with the Houston Texans.

In his first and only season with the Texans, Brown recorded 33 receptions for 567 yards and two touchdowns.  Listed at 6’2″ and 220 pounds, he’s the ideal fit for that bigger X-receiver that the Lions could be looking for on their roster.

As for Terrace Marshall, he’s only 24 years old and was a 2nd-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft. It was confirmed by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that Marshall was released. Primarily having bad quarterback play put some limitations on what Marshall could do in the Panthers offense.

He now seeks a fresh start after recording 767 yards on 64 receptions and a touchdown during his 36 games played. When he was coming out of LSU, he did run the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds and checked into the Scouting Combine at 6’2″ and 205 pounds. Playing in a better offense could be exactly what Marshall needs.

https://twitter.com/Panthers/status/1827420135352889367/video/1

We’ve seen them spin the tires on players like this in the past with Denzel Mims and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Despite it not working out for either one of those players, a fresh start in Detroit could be all that’s needed to jump-start the career of Terrace Marshall.

If I had to guess, the Lions would lean more towards Marshall than Brown especially since Brown has been battling through a shoulder injury all summer. It’ll be interesting to see what the Lions do at the wide receiver position. For now, I would consider these two players as the most viable options for the Lions offense.

 

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.

 

 

 

Three running backs the Detroit Lions could sign after cut day

Three running backs the Detroit Lions could sign after cut day from Lions Wire’s Russell Brown

One of the more surprising developments from the Detroit Lions roster after cut-day in the NFL is how lopsided their roster is. There’s a plethora of names on the defense but the offense doesn’t have enough players for a second team.

Something to note for Lions fans is that it’s not uncommon for a team to do this. Most of the time, it’s because an organization has their eyes on one or two offensive players that could contribute. For Detroit, that could be the case.

When you look at how their defensive line depth chart takes shape, they could still look to move a player or two and that would open up those roster spots on offense. On the defensive line, they could still be looking to trade either one of the Okwara brothers or they could look to move a player such as Benito Jones. Having seven edge rushers and five defensive tackles is surprising for an offense that could use another playmaker out of the backfield or at wide receiver.

After the Lions announced their 53-man roster, it was surprising to see that they only had two running backs (David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs) and a fullback (Jason Cabinda) listed on the depth chart. Last year, the Lions had four running backs on the roster and that didn’t include Cabinda.

However, two of the running backs on last years roster (Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson) could make it to the practice squad and if they move a defensive player, one of them could make it back to the roster.

That said, could the Lions look to add one of the running backs that were cut this week as teams across the NFL trimmed their roster from 90 players to 53 players?

That’s what I envision the Detroit Lions doing. Now the question is who could they be prepared to add at the running back position? Here’s three running back the Lions could consider adding for their 53-man roster:

Zonovan “Bam” Knight

This will be a player that will be at the top of the list for plenty of teams in the NFL. That’s why it was surprising to see the New York Jets move on from Knight without trading him but maybe their asking price was too high. Either way, the Lions could very well be interested in the talented back who went undrafted out of N.C. State in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Last season as a rookie, Knight ran for 300 yards with a touchdown and he added 13 receptions for 100 yards. At 5’10” and 209 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds and he had a 3-cone drill time of 6.95 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Lions are familiar with Knight as they limited him to only 23 yards on 13 carries last season during their week 15 battle. Prior to that game, Knight had averaged 77 rushing yards per game for the Jets. Regardless of his stat line versus the Lions, Knight showed his ability to be an effective pass-catcher while being able to run efficiently in a zone running scheme.

The most impressive stat for Knight is that he forced a broken tackle on 34% of his rushes last year and that was number one in the NFL. During training camp, reports came out of New York that Knight excels running behind a fullback and that he looked “like the best running back in camp.”

For Detroit, this would be a home run addition for what they do offensively and how it feels like they need to add a player to their backfield.

Tyler Badie

Badie is another one-year running back from the 2022 NFL Draft that has some potential. Now that’s simply based on the type of player he was for Missouri. One concern with Badie is that he’s searching for his third team in his second year and he’s only gotten one reception for 24 yards in his career.

The hope for a team like Detroit is that they’ve shown that they can tap into a player and pull some good from them. They’ve found ways to create competition and make the players on the roster better. Maybe they can tap into his 4.45 speed and find ways to get him the football. In his four years at Missouri, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and he had 126 receptions.

We’ll see if the Lions spin the tires on this one but adding another player to their backfield seems likely. If they miss out on Knight and potentially other running backs, they could turn towards a player such as Badie.

John Kelly

On and off the Cleveland Browns practice squad the last two years, it’s hard to pinpoint what type of player John Kelly can be. One positive when looking at him is that Brad Holmes was with the Rams when Kelly got drafted in the 6th Round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

For Kelly, he’s been a part of some rosters that already have established running backs. With the Rams, he was behind Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown. With the Browns, he was behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Coming to Detroit to back up David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs is probably less than ideal for a player that’s searching for an opportunity.

However, Detroit presents an opportunity for a third running back. Especially if that running back comes in and works hard. While Kelly isn’t a speedster with his 40-yard dash time of 4.62 seconds, he was a physical runner in college at Tennessee. He shook off tacklers on just about every run, and he showed good lateral ability when cutting in the open field.

While signing John Kelly might not be splashy, it could still be a good move for both parties. After all, Kelly is an Oak Park, Michigan native who could look for one last hurrah in his hometown.