Dan Campbell praised his backup offensive line Monday for how it handled stunts and blitzes from the Carolina Panthers’ defensive front, but the group’s improved play in the Detroit Lions‘ final preseason game wasn’t enough to convince team brass that most of that group deserved a spot on the 53-man roster.
The Lions are keeping just eight offensive linemen to start the year, one fewer than the NFL standard.
The Lions waived undrafted free agent offensive tackles Connor Galvin and Ryan Swoboda and guard Kayode Awosika on Monday. They join Germain Ifedi, Bobby Hart, Obinna Eze, Darrin Paulo and Alex Mollette, who were cut over the weekend.
Galvin took second-team reps at tackle when Taylor Decker missed a day of practice last week, and Swoboda has unusual physical traits at 6 feet 9 and 315 pounds.
The Lions will enter the season with Decker and Penei Sewell as their starting tackles, Frank Ragnow at center and Jonah Jackson at left guard. Graham Glasgow and Halapoulivaati Vaitai have spent training camp competing for the right guard job, and Matt Nelson and rookie Colby Sorsdal are the backups.
While the Lions likely will try and re-sign at least two and maybe all three of Galvin, Swoboda and Awosika to the practice squad, they felt comfortable going with eight linemen on their 53-man roster for now in part because of the unit’s versatility.
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Sewell moved from right to left tackle when Decker missed time this summer. Glasgow will be the backup center, even if he wins the right guard job. And Sorsdal is learning the guard position but played tackle in college and occasionally in preseason games.
The Lions have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to set their 53-man roster.
Lions keeping 2 QBs
The Detroit Lions are keeping just two quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster.
The Lions waived quarterback Adrian Martinez on Monday, though the undrafted rookie out of Kansas State could return on practice squad.
Martinez completed 9 of 18 passes for 76 yards this preseason. He led a game-winning drive in the Lions’ preseason opener, when he scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run, and played most of the second half in Friday’s preseason finale after Nate Sudfeld left with an injury.
Sudfeld suffered a torn ACL, tests confirmed Monday, and is expected to go on season-ending injured reserve, and third-round pick Hendon Hooker will open the season on the nonfootball injury list while he continues to rehab a college knee injury.
Jared Goff and Teddy Bridgewater enter the season as the Lions’ top quarterbacks. Goff is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and is riding a streak of 324 straight pass attempts without an interception. Aaron Rodgers holds the NFL record with 404 consecutive attempts without a pick.
Bridgewater started the Lions’ final two preseason games after signing with the team earlier this month.
Dylan Drummond headed to waivers
Dylan Drummond tied for the team-lead with nine catches this preseason and had as consistent a camp as any of the wide receivers fighting for back-end roster spots with the Detroit Lions, but that wasn’t enough to earn the fifth receiver job.
The Lions waived Drummond on Monday as part of their second round of roster moves.
An undrafted rookie out of Eastern Michigan who earned a contract after a May tryout, Drummond caught nine passes for 87 yards this preseason and closed exhibition play with a strong showing against the Carolina Panthers.
“I thought Drummond made some critical catches,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday.
Drummond had five catches for 46 yards against the Panthers and made several contested catches for first downs. He worked his way up from third- to second-string in training camp, and took some first-team reps earlier this month as the Lions dealt with injuries to their receiving corps.
The Lions are expected to keep rookie seventh-round pick Antoine Green as the No. 5 receiver on their initial 53-man roster. Green also played well against the Panthers, catching three passes for 97 yards with a 70-yard touchdown.
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The Lions return Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds as their top three receivers and signed veteran Marvin Jones this offseason. Second-year wide out Jameson Williams will miss the first six games of the season with a suspension that goes into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
On Monday, the Lions waived receivers Trinity Benson and Avery Davis.
Players cut so far
- WR: Dylan Drummond, Trinity Benson, Avery Davis, Jason Moore
- OL: Germain Ifedi, Bobby Hart, Obinna Eze, Darrin Paulo, Alex Mollette
- RB: Devine Ozigbo
- TE: Daniel Helm
- DB: Scott Nelson, Colby Richardson
- DL: Christian Covington
Ifedi among Sunday’s roster cuts
The Lions announced 13 roster cuts Sunday, their first wave of moves to get down to a 53-man roster by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Five offensive linemen were among those cut, including Germain Ifedi, who was competing for the backup tackle job with Matt Nelson.
Nelson is expected to serve as the swing tackle this fall, and rookie Colby Sorsdal, who is moving to guard after playing tackle in college, played some right tackle in Friday’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers.
Undrafted rookies Ryan Swoboda and Connor Galvin, and Max Pircher, an international roster exemption, are the only other tackles still on the roster, besides Nelson and starters Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell.
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Along with Ifedi, the Lions released veterans Bobby Hart, Jason Moore, Christian Covington and Devine Ozigbo, and waived Trinity Benson, Avery Davis, Obinna Eze, Scott Nelson, Darrin Paulo, Colby Richardson, Daniel Helm and Alex Mollette.
While none of those cuts is a surprise, Benson is the other notable name in the group. Acquired in a cut day trade with the Denver Broncos two years ago, he had been competing for a backup receiver job but had missed time in training camp with a leg injury.
Helm was a late arrival to camp, signing with the Lions in early August after Shane Zylstra suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.
The Lions’ decisions have seemed pretty obvious at tight end since that day: Rookie second-round pick Sam LaPorta is TE1, and James Mitchell and Brock Wright are in line to make the 53-man roster as backups.
Darrell Daniels, who signed the same day as Helm, is the final tight end currently on the Lions roster. He’s played prominently on special teams the past three weeks and done well with his opportunity. He also has a history with Lions tight ends coach Steve Heiden, who he played for with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018-21.
It’s possible the Lions have a surprise up their sleeve and plan to keep Daniels on the 53-man roster, but at a minimum, Daniels appears to have a clear path to the practice squad.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.