Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The 33 new Detroit Lions training camp who were not with the team at any point in the 2022 season
The Detroit Lions have an impressive young core of talent as a base coming off the 9-8 finish in 2022. GM Brad Holmes and his staff have added many more pieces to the Lions puzzle.
Here are all the new names and players in Detroit Lions training camp who were not with the team at any point in the 2022 season.
Breaking down the top 20 salary cap commitments for the Detroit Lions in 2023
Who are the 20 players who will count the most against the salary cap for the Detroit Lions in 2023?
Salary cap commitment is not the same as salary. Things like prorated bonuses, signing bonuses and incentive clauses mean the cap obligation is often quite different from the amount the player will actually earn in a season.
Here are the top 20 salary cap commitments for the Detroit Lions in 2023.
3 surprising contributors for the Detroit Lions offense in 2023
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Over the next several months, we’ll see the Detroit Lions ironing out their roster on a regular basis. Whether it be cutting offensive lineman or confirming a seventh round pick wide receiver to their 53-man roster. Whatever the case may be, the Lions roster has a lot of potential. After looking over the roster these last few days, here are three players that could be surprising contributors for the 2023 season.
Believe it or not but Kalif Raymond was ranked 3rd on the team for receptions last season. With 47 receptions for 616 yards, Raymond has put together back-to-back seasons of solid production. With wide receiver Jameson Williams suspended for the first six weeks of the season, the Lions could lean on Raymond as the teams 2nd or 3rd receiver.
When watching Raymond, you can see that he can be used in a variety of ways. He can run vertically down the field and has shown that he can track the football or run past the opposition. Meanwhile, he’s effective in the short and intermediate areas of the field. With the experience that Raymond has in this Lions offense, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets the nod over players such as Antoine Green, Trinity Benson and other receivers trying to make the roster. There’s potential for Raymond to flirt with 50 receptions for a third consecutive season for the Lions.
This one might not be as surprising, but Sam LaPorta could be incredibly productive as a rookie for the Lions. He has the ability to run after-the-catch on a consistent basis and can create separation at ease with his route running ability. LaPorta is a fluid athlete that should easily get the nod as the starting tight end in this offense. I could see him ending up with 50 receptions for over 500 yards this season.
As we’ve seen from the Lions in the past, they like to bring on an additional offensive lineman as a tight end to block. With some uncertainty surrounding Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right guard, we could easily see scenarios where Graham Glasgow or Colby Sorsdal play there. Meanwhile, we could also see Sorsdal used as a tight end or a swing tackle.
When watching Sorsdal, you’ll see that he can play too high or lean too far forward but he’s athletic with good lateral quickness to reach block and pull. There’s potential for Sorsdal to play more than expected as a rookie. While that could be bad due to potential injuries or it’s being hopeful that he catches on quickly as the coaching staff carves out a role for him up front.
The 2022 Detroit Lions were the NFL’s youngest team in terms of snap-weighted average age and one of the five youngest in nearly 20 years
The 2022 Detroit Lions were the franchise’s most successful team in several years. They did so despite being one of the NFL’s youngest teams of the last two decades.
Using a metric known as “snap-weighted age” from Football Outsiders, the 2022 Lions were indeed quite precocious. Detroit’s snap-weighted age, or SWA, was an NFL-low 25.3 years old. It quantifies the age of the people actually playing the snaps, which differentiates it from the overall roster age.
The defense, in particular, was extremely young. Detroit’s SWA on defense was just 24.8 years old. It made the Lions’ defense the only one with an average SWA under 25.
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From Football Outsiders,
The youngest teams in 2022 were very young, historically young in fact. The overall SWA for the entire league has dropped gradually over a decade before stabalizing at 26.4 during the last four years. But one result of the league as a whole getting younger is that the youngest teams in SWA are all recent. The Lions were the fourth-youngest team since 2006 and the Chiefs ranked seventh.
The last two years of the Lions rank 4th and 5th in terms of the youngest SWA since 2006, when Football Outsiders began tracking the data.
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The Detroit Lions 85-man roster by jersey number for the preseason game with the Indianapolis Colts
The Detroit Lions will play their second preseason game of the 2022 schedule when they take the field against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, August 20th at 1 p.m. ET. Unlike the preseason opener against Atlanta, many starters are not expected to play for either team.
That can make identifying who is involved in the action tricky. To that end, here are all 85 players on the Lions’ active roster entering Saturday’s exhibition matchup with the Colts. They are listed by jersey number. Remember, not everyone will play.
The Lions will need to make some cuts in order to sign any more free agents to the full 90-man roster
The Detroit Lions will host their rookie minicamp next weekend, from May 14 through 16. If the team finds some tryout players or camp invites they like, they’re going to need some room on the roster to sign them.
Detroit had 78 players under contract entering last weekend’s draft. The Lions then made eight picks in the 2022 NFL draft, pushing the committed roster spots to 86 of the 90-man limit. Shortly after the draft, the Lions inked four undrafted rookies to contracts worth at least $100,000.
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That’s the 90-man roster. For now…
One of the focuses of the early offseason from GM Brad Holmes and his front office was bringing back a flurry of returning players. Some are safely on the roster. Guys like S Tracy Walker, QB Tim Boyle, WR Josh Reynolds, LB Alex Anzalone, reserve offensive lineman Evan Brown and EDGE Charles Harris aren’t going anywhere. But several other players brought back from 2021 could be ex-Lions sooner than later.
Prominent amongst that group are the exclusive rights free agents and players earning the league minimum who haven’t established themselves on the depth chart. Those players are in real danger of being pushed off the team in favor of undrafted rookies or young players looking to make a name in the upcoming rookie minicamp and offseason activities.
Some of those players saw the Lions draft players who slot in above them on the depth chart. Adding Aidan Hutchinson in the first round and Zach Paschal in the second makes it tough for depth defensive linemen like Jessie Lemonier and Rashod Berry to stick around.
The most likely cuts come at linebacker. There are 10 off-ball linebackers on the team after drafting Malcolm Rodriguez and James Houston (who might also play EDGE). For a team that will have just one or two on the field most of the time, that’s untenable roster clutter.
The LBs on the spot: Jarrad Davis, Anthony Pittman, Tavante Beckett and Josh Woods. And it might not be an undrafted or tryout LB to push them off. The team is much thinner on the offensive line and in the secondary.
Another place where the Lions have more players than they could ever use is at kicker. There are three — Riley Patterson, Austin Seibert and Aldrick Rosas. It’s hard to see the team carry more than two of those into the mandatory minicamp in June.
Detroit’s overhauled roster has a lot of major question marks entering 2021
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It’s a long way to the top for the Detroit Lions. The new-look Lions saw an exodus of talent this offseason, from longtime franchise QB Matthew Stafford to future Hall of Fame RB Adrian Peterson to the team’s top four wide receivers in 2020. And that’s not even getting to the 32nd-ranked defense in both points and yards allowed a year ago.
The Lions are starting from the NFL’s basement in 2021. They are just one step above the dirt floor that is the tumultuous Houston Texans in Pro Football Focus’s preseason roster rankings.
The graphic from PFF illustrates how far the Lions have to climb up from the ashes of the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia era.
While it’s not broken down by position group, the radical overhaul in several areas of the roster (QB, WR, DL, RB, CB, K) reflects a Lions team that is at the very beginning of a major rebuild under new GM Brad Holmes. The massive change isn’t likely to achieve instant success, not even with a fresh coaching attitude under energetic new headman Dan Campbell.
PFF isn’t the only outlet that will project the Lions to be among the very worst teams in the NFL in 2021. Detroit sits in the 30-32 range in nearly every contemporary NFL power poll entering training camp season. It’s something long-suffering (and there is no other kind) Lions fans will need to get used to in the coming weeks.
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Okudah, Swift and some others will need to change their jersey numbers before the regular season
The Detroit Lions convene for training camp in the coming days. We’re still not sure about the logistics of the camp in Allen Park or how many players will be allowed officially at any time, but we do at least know the players currently on the Lions roster.
From Jeff Okudah to John Atkins, here are the current Lions under contract with the team as sorted by jersey numbers. Note that some, notably Okudah and D’Andre Swift, will need to change their numbers prior to the regular season.
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Detroit Lions wide receiver Chris lacy welcomes competition with the signing of wide receiver Geronimo Allison signing
The Detroit Lions hold a solid top-half receiving corps with Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola, but there are questions surrounding the depth and the future of the position with no receiver signed beyond the 2020 season.
Recently, the Lions added some depth to their receiving corps, agreeing to terms with former Green Bay Packer Geronimo Allison.
Allison opened last season with a bang, leading the Packers in catches, yards, and touchdowns over the first four weeks of the season. He then suffered a groin injury and it appeared to hinder his play for the remainder of the season. On the season, he logged 689 snaps with the Packers lining up in the slot 73-percent of the time.
For Allison to make the Lions roster, it will likely be as the fourth or fifth option at wide receiver but he will need to beat out several players who are familiar with the Lions’ system.
One of those returning players is welcoming the competition:
👀 Competition
— Chris Lacy II (@Gifted_CLacy) March 29, 2020
Lacy was on and off the Lions’ active roster last year, and after Marvin Jones was placed on injured reserve, Lacy was brought in to fill the vacant spot. Lacy went on to start two games, logging 128 snaps on offense but spending most of his time on special teams — which the Lions covet from their bottom of the roster personnel.
The Lions will almost assuredly take advantage of a deep draft class at wide receiver, and with eleven receivers currently on the roster, competition is going to be stiff.
Iron sharpens iron 💪🏾💪🏾
— Chris Lacy II (@Gifted_CLacy) March 29, 2020
Considering how little the Lions are spending — less than $2 million on Lacy and Allison combined — the financial commitment is next to nothing, but the gains could be significant if either one of them breaks out.
It will be an uphill battle for Lacy and/or Allison to make the roster, but hopefully, the competition will bring out their best. May the best man win.
After adding Reggie Ragland and Elijah Lee, the Detroit Lions have 11 LBs on the roster. Here’s how they sort out.
After adding Reggie Ragland from the Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Elijah Lee from the team Kansas City bested, the 49ers, the Lions can now deploy a defense comprised entirely of linebackers. With 11 linebackers currently on the roster, Detroit could have a backer at every single spot.
They won’t, of course, though coach Matt Patricia might be tempted to trot out a 2-8-1 formation just for the chaos factor. But there is certainly a deep mix of LBs to sort through.
The current list of LBs on the Lions roster:
Collins will start at one spot, that is certain. The Lions didn’t pay him $30 million to defect from New England and then not play a significant role. He’s experienced at playing the SAM (strongside) role behind a 4-man front, which the Lions seem to be trending to play more often under new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.
Tavai projects as the likely starter at middle LB, a role he grew in as a rookie in 2019. The Lions run defense did improve when he took over the primary ILB spot.
Jones and Davis now seem to occupy the weakside role, or WILL. If the defense deploys four LBs, they could both be on the field. Jones offers more versatility and is a more reliable all-around player, while Davis should now be able to play in more of a specialist role. That could be a boon for his struggling career.
Davis played his best football in 2018 as a pass-rushing LB behind DT Damon Harrison. With Danny Shelton now manning the nose, Davis could get more looks in that role as a rusher or an assignment-specific nickel backer. Outside of Collins, Davis remains the most athletic and fastest LB on the roster.
Ragland has become an effective run-stuffing ILB in the Chiefs’ version of a 4-man front. His coverage skills are weaker than Tavai, Jones or Collins (who excels in covering TEs). I expect to see him in place of Davis or Jones in short-yardage situations or when the opposing team uses a fullback or two-TE set.
Reeves-Maybin offers potential in nickel packages or 4-LB sets. Lee is the same sort of player, so they are likely dueling for the same roster spot. Lee played well on special teams in San Francisco and that could give him a leg up.
The rest are unlikely to have any role beyond special teams. Longa and Cabinda could be competing for the same backup MLB/ILB role, but the team may opt to not carry than many LBs. Pittman should stick on the practice squad, where he spent his entire rookie season before making his debut in Week 17. Sam is only on a reserve/future contract and might never don a Lions uniform, his Patriots heritage be damned.
It seems extremely unlikely the Lions will draft any linebackers with any reasonable expectation of making the active roster in 2020. It doesn’t rule out a developmental talent on Day 3, but anything more than that would appear to be a redundant case of draft resource wastefulness.
While I don’t expect it to happen, the possibility of Jarrad Davis being traded does at least merit consideration. His inexpensive salary means there is no real point in cutting the 2017 first-rounder. Davis is well-respected in the locker room and deserves a chance to try and salvage his Lions career in Undlin’s new defense. His trade value would appear to be quite low.
Jones signed a two-year contract extension in November, an indication of some level of commitment. It’s a team-friendly contract if they opt to remove Jones, who did not play well in 2019, before the season. Dumping the veteran would eat just under $2.2 million in cap room in 2020 and about $1.1 million in 2021.
