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4 Lions vets who are in real peril of not making the Detroit roster in 2023
There is a flip side of the coin to the excitement of all the offseason additions in Detroit. Some Lions players who had roles in the past are going to lose their spots because of the influx of new talent.
It’s the life cycle in the NFL. New players come in and replace older ones that are no longer good enough for their roles. For the Detroit Lions in 2023, it means a few guys need to perform better than they have recently to hold onto roster spots.
A bunch of Lions players changed their numbers now that different jerseys were available
When the Detroit Lions take to the field for the first mandatory minicamp in a few weeks, we’ll get a chance to see the free agents signed this offseason in their new jerseys for the first time. Now we know which number each of the new Lions will be sporting in 2023, at least to start the offseason.
The Lions revealed the jersey number choices of the free agent class of 2023. It was included in the same social media postings as the rookie jersey number assignments.
For the first time in the modern era, a Lions player will don No. 0. That honor goes to veteran wideout Marvin Jones, who returned in free agency after two seasons in Jacksonville.
The liberation of number assignments allows several new defensive backs to rock single-digit jerseys. Cam Sutton will wear No. 1, with C.J. Gardner-Johnson going for No. 2 and Emmanuel Moseley choosing the No 4 jersey. Running back David Montgomery will go with No. 5.
In addition to the new free agents, several holdover Lions pulled off some jersey number changes, too. Most notable among these are DB Ifeatu Melifonwu moving to No. 6 from 26 and running back Craig Reynolds choosing No. 13 after being No. 46.
That 24 belongs to cornerback Jarren Williams, not to be confused with wideout Jameson Williams, who appears to be keeping his No. 9.
With the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft, we now know the results of the Detroit Lions/Matthew Stafford trade and broke it all down
When Brad Holmes took over as the General Manager of the Detroit Lions, one of the first tasks he needed to take care of was the Matthew Stafford situation. It had become clear with a newly implemented regime that the Lions were going to go into a full rebuild, and Stafford knew his window was closing. The Lions wanted to make sure they do right to the quarterback they have had since 2009 and honor his request to pursue a Super Bowl championship.
Holmes found a trade partner with his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, who figured they were a quarterback away from obtaining the ultimate prize. The deal became the Rams receive Matthew Stafford, and Lions got Jared Goff, a 2021 3rd-round pick, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick. The Rams would go on to win the Super Bowl as the Lions used the capital to retool the organization.
With the 2023 NFL Draft in the books, we can now get the full picture of the trade that kicked off the new regime.
| Lions | Rams |
| QB Jared Goff
2021 3rd round draft pick (101st overall)
2022 1st round draft pick (32nd overall)
2023 1st round draft pick (6th overall)
|
Matthew Stafford |
In short, here is the result of the trade and subsequent trades with the associated draft picks:
Rams: Matthew Stafford
Lions: Jared Goff, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Jameson Williams, Josh Paschal, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and Brodric Martin
The Rams reaped the results with Stafford capping a Super Bowl victory, but unfortunately, the following season wasn’t as fruitful. Stafford’s nagging neck injury reared its ugly head, and only played in nine games last season with a 3-6 record. The Rams had to lean on John Wolford and Bryce Perkins to try to salvage the season until Stafford was able to return from injured reserve, but the losses and injuries kept piling up as the Rams finished with a 5-12 record, which gave the Lions a top 10 draft pick in 2023.
As for the Lions, they added a plethora of pieces on both sides of the ball they believed would help establish the Lions identity and culture. For some of the players, we have an idea of their situation, whereas, for some, the picture hasn’t been drawn yet.
Jared Goff got off to a rocky start in Detroit with a 3-13-1 record in 2021 and didn’t alleviate the concerns in the first part of the 2022 season. Then, something clicked for Goff and the Lions as they finished the season with a 9-8 record and knocking at the door for a playoff berth. Goff will look to continue his hot streak and try to take the Lions to the promised land.
Ifeatu Melifonwu hasn’t worked as well as the Lions have hoped for to help the secondary. Injuries have slowed his development as he has landed on injured reserve twice already, and he has changed positions moving from cornerback to safety. When he does make it on the field, it has gone very well for him, making him a liability on the field. He has the athleticism but can’t seem to put it all together. It’ll be a make-or-break 2023 season for Melifonwu.
When the Lions selected Jameson Williams, it was with the future in mind as he was recovering from an ACL injury. If it weren’t for the injury, he might’ve been the first receiver taken with his speed, route running, and athleticism. The chemistry between Williams and Goff never fully developed, but you can see the possibilities. Unfortunately, Williams will sit out the first six games of the 2023 season as he was suspended for gambling. It is a blow to the Lions offense who was going to rely on Williams in the 2023 season, but the Lions have done a good job in building a reliable receiving corps to offset the loss of Williams to start the season.
Paschal didn’t make his debut until Week 7 while he recovered from a sports hernia. As a second-round selection, he never fully took off as a rookie, but the Lions received stellar play from John Cominsky and 2022 sixth-round selection James Houston shortening the amount the snaps Paschal might’ve received. The Lions believe Paschal can line up inside and outside along the defensive line and can be a force on the defensive line. With a full offseason and healthy, Paschal will look to take that next step and become the force the Lions believe he can be in Detroit.
For the 2023 draft selections, the Lions brought in several players who will look to be immediate contributors. Gibbs will look to be a dynamic offensive weapon that will fit right into Ben Johnson’s offense, which already features dynamic players. LaPorta has high-end athleticism that makes him a strong target for Jared Goff and an upgrade in the tight end room. Martin is a behemoth of a man that will clog the middle of the defensive line and shut down the opponents running game in its place.
We will have to wait to see how well the 2023 picks contribute for the Lions, but unfortunately, the players that we have seen play have been a mixed bag. Goff will look to show the end of the 2022 season wasn’t a fluke and continue elevating his play heading into next season. Melifonwu is having a hard time fight time on the field and can’t seem to stay healthy. Williams has the tools to be a star receiver in Detroit, but we haven’t seen enough to reach a fair evaluation and the suspension did not help his cause. Paschal had a slow 2022 season as a rotational player but will look to take the next step forward in 2023.
The final chapters have not been written in the books of the Detroit Lions and the Matthew Stafford trade, but we are able to see the full results and breakdown to judge winners and losers, which everybody loves to do. The 2023 season will be a good judgment point to see if the trade fully worked out for the Detroit Lions.
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Potential replacements for DeShon Elliott at safety now that he’s left the Lions for the Dolphins in free agency
Detroit Lions safety DeShon Elliott is the first of the team’s free agents to sign to a new team.
Elliott has reportedly agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins on a one-year deal. This departure leaves a hole at the safety position for the Lions.
With options in-house, plenty of free agents available, and the draft coming up, the Lions have plenty of routes that they can go to address this area of need.
On the roster, Detroit currently has Tracy Walker and Kerby Joseph penciled in as starters. While this is passable for most teams, Detroit does tend to operate in three-safety sets. This means they will need to find one more capable safety to take significant snaps on defense.
There are two available options under contract at the moment: Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brady Breeze.
Melifonwu was a third-round pick in 2021 who converted from cornerback to safety after his rookie year.
He appeared in 10 games in 2022 and had one start at safety in place of Elliott. His coverage skills leave much to be desired, but he is a physical tackler and much better suited against the run.
Breeze was also a 2021 draft pick, but by the Tennessee Titans. He has been with the Lions on and off since December of that season. He has appeared in six games over the past two seasons for Detroit, recording six tackles. While there isn’t much film on him, Breeze has stuck around long enough that the coaches must see something of value in him.
There are plenty of free-agent options available as well.
As Detroit doesn’t need a true starter, they won’t need to look for the top safety talent in the free-agent pool.
One name to watch is safety Nick Scott. Scott was a draft pick by the Rams back when general manager Brad Holmes was still with that organization. He became a full-time starter in 2022 and had a decent season with 86 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
With the way he’d be used in Detroit, he’d still get plenty of playing time on defense. With that said, his price tag would come in the $3 to $4 million range.
One other option at safety is P.J. Locke, formerly of the Denver Broncos. Locke is a versatile player who can line up at both free and strong safety while also being able to play in the slot as a nickel or dime defender. He played a small role in Denver’s defense and mainly took the field on special teams snaps, but he’d be available to the Lions on a very cheap deal.
If Detroit doesn’t want to use one of their rostered players or go out and sign a safety, there are still some options to look for in the draft.
Alabama’s Brian Branch is one potential player who could be selected with the 18th overall draft pick. Another player who has been garnering some attention lately is Illinois safety Sydney Brown. Brown is projected to go around the third round and could learn the ropes of Detroit’s defense in that third safety role.
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Lions film spotlight: Jeff Okudah and Ifeatu Melifonwu vs. the Bears
This week’s Detroit Lions film breakdown spotlights two defensive backs and how they performed in the Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears.
Cornerback Jeff Okudah and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu each earned the spotlight treatment, in part because both played more limited snaps. Chicago ran just 52 plays in Detroit’s 41-10 win. Okudah played 17 and Melifonwu was in for 26 (not counting plays erased by penalties).
As with past breakdowns, the methodology is pretty straightforward. I watch each play from both the broadcast angle and the All-22. When the player does his job well on a play, he earns a plus. When he fails at his task, it earns a minus. Not every play earns a mark.
Film spotlight: Breaking down all the Lions runs vs. the Panthers
Lions film spotlight: Breaking down RB D'Andre Swift vs. the Jets
Jeff Okudah: Breaking down the Lions CB's Week 1 performance vs. the Eagles
The first drive was an eventful one for the third-year cornerback. Okudah earned plusses in coverage on Chicago’s first two passing plays, staying in lock-step man coverage. On the second rep, he worked the slot on a crossing route and denied where Bears QB Justin Fields was looking to throw.
And then came Fields running. A gadget play where the Bears pitched the ball to Fields ran right at Okudah and he got destroyed by a block. Okudah was the edge contain but he earned a minus for getting buried (sidenote: rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez also had a very bad rep here). No. 1 did have great coverage on the eventual TD play, a miscue on a pick route that didn’t involve Okudah.
First drive: three plusses (all in coverage), one minus in run defense
He earned one more plus in coverage and one more minus in run defense in the first half. The minus came on a run to the left where he was the outside contain but got blocked away, leaving RB David Montgomery with an option to go either way.
Okudah added one more plus in coverage, erasing his mark in man coverage. He was not thrown at all game.
Final tally: Five plusses in coverage, two minuses in run defense. I did not grade his special teams reps.
The second-year safety didn’t start but was in on two plays on the opening drive. Neither earned a mark, but he picked up a minus on his first rep on the second drive on the long Fields run. Melifonwu never took his eyes off his receiver even as the wideout initiated a block with him as Fields took off.
Melifonwu finished that drive very well. He earned two plusses in run defense in the red zone, notably on the third-and-goal scramble by Fields. Great positioning and field awareness from No. 26; he didn’t make the tackle but he made the tackle possible by being when and where he was supposed to be.
He picked up a plus for helping force a sack on the next drive, a play where Fields ran out of bounds behind the line. Excellent spatial awareness and eye discipline on that one. Melifonwu tacked on another plus later in run defense, besting Equanimeous St. Brown on a block to help force a tackle.
In coverage, I found three plusses and one minuses for Melifonwu in the game. He was on the hook for one completion, a zone look where he ventured too far outside to allow the completion inside. He quickly made the tackle. It’s an iffy (no pun intended) play because the throw is into a schemed hole in the zone, and he avoided a minus by making the nice tackle. He added another plus by smartly coming off his man and making a tackle right after a catch.
Melifonwu’s minus came when he was far too deep in off-man coverage on the play where Josh Paschal recorded his second sack of the game. No harm there but it’s a minus for 26.
Final tally: Seven plusses, two minuses. Excellent bounce-back game after a brutal first start in Carolina.
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Melifonwu is in line to start for the second straight week at safety
Ifeatu Melifonwu is in line to get his second straight start at safety for the Detroit Lions. Head coach Dan Campbell all but ruled out regular starter DeShon Elliott with a shoulder injury on Friday for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
Melifonwu’s starting debut against the Carolina Panthers did not go well. While the second-year DB led the Lions in tackles, he also missed several opportunities and was consistently out of position in run defense.
Campbell expressed some confidence in Melifonwu heading into the Week 17 matchup with Chicago.
“Well, I would anticipate we’d see him react quicker,” Campbell said of Melifonwu. “I think we’re going to see a player that sees it faster and triggers faster, and he knows what we’re looking for just from what we talked about, the intensity, the aggressiveness. So, yeah, I anticipate we’ll see a better version of Iffy.”
Campbell was also asked if reserve safety C.J. Moore would take on a bigger role, but the head coach downplayed that potential.
“Yeah, I think the plan would be to stay with Iffy more this week – to go that route and here’s why and a lot of that came back to – here’s some of the plus and minus with C.J. is, it would be great, but also man, he’s such a vital part of what we do on teams. He’s a four-core player and the more strain you put on him defensively it takes away from the core and that’s really where he – where he really excels.”
Campbell continued,
“And so, I think it’s – that’s why we want to give Iffy more of a go and we feel like that gives us our best chance as a team to keep Moore there. Let Iffy get another week under his belt here and see where it goes.”
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Here are the Detroit Lions Studs and Duds this week as they were shellacked by the Carolina Panthers, hurting their playoff chances.
That was not exactly what everyone was hoping for from the Detroit Lions this week, who were hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive. Instead, they were manhandled from start to finish losing to the Carolina Panthers, 37-23.
There was a lot of hope for the Lions walking into this week riding high from winning six of their last seven and coming off a tough victory over the New York Jets, but this week looked the Lions who started 1-6 in the season. The Panthers had a lot riding on this game, hoping to close the gap in their division, so you knew they would come out swinging, and that is exactly what they did, and the Lions did not look like they were ready for the punch to the gut.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much good to come out of this game, and it will be a reflection period for everyone on the team. We will try to highlight a couple of players, but all in all it was not a showing the Lions were hoping for to stay in the hunt.
On a terrible coaching effort, even worse tackling, Detroit’s own rushing ineptitude and more from the Week 16 loss
The Detroit Lions went into Carolina in Week 16 as favorites to beat the 5-9 Panthers. All that good faith and trust in the Lions quickly blew away in the frigid Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers ran wild in a 37-23 win that wasn’t really as close as the final score would indicate. Carolina ran for a team-record 320 yards and relentlessly pummeled a hapless Lions defense. The score was 24-7 at halftime and Carolina extended that to 31-7 in the third quarter before the Lions “won” garbage time.
It was not the way head coach Dan Campbell envisioned the game playing out, nor any Lions fan. Detroit falls to 7-8 with the loss, snapping a streak where the Lions had won six of its last seven games. The Panthers improve to 6-9 but will win the NFC South if they win out, in control of their own playoff destiny.
Here are a few quick takeaways from the Lions loss.
Lions injury update to start Week 13: Who sat out Wednesday’s practice, who was limited and more
Practice was back on schedule in Allen Park as the Detroit Lions reconvened after a long weekend following the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Buffalo Bills.
While some players returned from injuries from Week 12, a few still sat out the Wednesday session. The first practice injury report of the week featured four players sitting out with injuries. Five others were limited participants.
Here’s how they break down in the first injury report of Week 13.
Lions final Week 9 injury report: 3 DBs out, WR Josh Reynolds doubtful, 4 more questionable
The Detroit Lions will be shorthanded in the secondary in the Week 9 matchup with the Green Bay Packers in Ford Field. Three defensive backs are among the four players ruled out for Sunday’s game due to injuries.
CBs AJ Parker and Chase Lucas are joined by safety Ifeatu Melifonwu in missing the visit from the Packers. Lucas and Melifonwu are both out with ankle injuries and also missed Week 8. Parker has a hip issue that will sideline last week’s starting slot CB.
They are joined on the “out” list by top reserve offensive tackle Matt Nelson, who also missed Week 8 with a calf injury.
Starting wide receiver Josh Reynolds is listed as doubtful for the Packers game with a back problem. Reynolds played against the Dolphins but was clearly not 100 percent. He was sidelined the last two days of practice this week.
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Four other players are questionable. Left tackle Taylor Decker (groin), DE Charles Harris (groin), RB D’Andre Swift (shoulder/ankle) and TE Brock Wright (concussion) are all listed as questionable. Wright did participate in full in Friday’s practice and will be active for the game as long as he doesn’t experience any setbacks after the full day of work.
Expect Jerry Jacobs to put in a lot more work at cornerback with the injuries to the secondary.
