The Detroit Lions cut five players to get down to the 80-man roster limit ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, including quarterback Jordan Ta’amu.
Ta’amu signed last week to help alleviate mounting injuries the Lions were dealing with at the quarterback position.
Both Tim Boyle (ankle) and David Blough (shoulder) missed a day of practice last week, but returned for Saturday’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ta’amu did not play against the Steelers, and did not throw any passes during the one-on-one portion of Monday’s shortened practice. Neither Boyle nor Blough practiced Monday.
The Lions are trending towards keeping three quarterbacks on their active roster, with Boyle and Blough backing up starter Jared Goff.
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“I have no problem keeping three, I’d start with that — if there are three that are worthy of keeping,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Right now, I would say that Boyle and Blough both, the more reps they get, the better they’re going to be for it. If you feel like you have three that you can trust, then it is hard to let go one of those guys, it really is.”
Along with Ta’amu, the Lions waived nose tackle P.J. Johnson, running back Javon Leake and outside linebacker Robert McCray, and released receiver Darius Jennings.
Teams have until 4 p.m. Aug. 31 to set their initial 53-man roster.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.