Nov. 27, 2009; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Las Vegas Locomotives running back (27) DeDe Dorsey runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Florida Tuskers during the UFL championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Locomotives defeated the Tuskers 20-17 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Dorsey, a 6’0 208 RB/DB, has spent time in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl Champions 2006), and Detroit Lions. Most recently, Dorsey played in the United Football League under Jim Fassel and the Las Vegas Locomotives. Dorsey was the Championship game MVP in the league’s inaugural season of 2009 as the Locomotives were UFL Champions in back to back seasons.

DeDe Dorsey is a graduate of Lindenwood University, where as a senior, he was named first-team all-NAIA as a running back after rushing for 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns. It was the first time in NAIA history that a player was named first-team NAIA on defense and offense in successive seasons. In less than three seasons as a defensive player, Dorsey had seven career interceptions, returning four for touchdowns, and blocked seven field goals and nine punts.

In 2010, Detroit signed Dorsey to a future contract on February 9; however, he was cut after the preseason on September 4. Dorsey had a very productive preseason that year, but he had to battle for snaps at his position against current starting running back Jahvid Best, former Lions Aaron Brown and Jerome Felton, and current free agent Maurice Morris.

As the Lions currently only have one of those running backs from the 2010 season left on their roster, and the fact that DeDe Dorsey had great success in the United Football League, perhaps the Lions should have given him a roster spot after all. He could have been a great role player for the Lions.

Time will tell whether Maurice Morris has more value to the Lions or someone else (Photo: YardBarker.com)

The games are over and all that remains is the final determination as to who deserves a spot on the roster.

Last night, I speculated that Martin Mayhew’s decision regarding the running back position could be made for him if he chose to work the phones in attempt to bring back the biggest possible return. Jahvid Best and Jerome Felton have spots secured while Kevin Smith, Maurice Morris and DeDe Dorsey have varying degrees of usefulness. All three could be made available to the highest bidder.

Lions insider Tom Kowalski wrote today that the same strategy could be used to sort out a number of positions:

The Lions believe they have some players, particularly at running back, receiver and tackle, who might upgrade another team’s roster. Other clubs in the league might be willing to deal low draft choices because they might be too far down the pecking order on the waiver wire and won’t get a shot at a player.

Martin Mayhew has shown a knack for turning something into nothing in his short tenure as general manager. Snagging a few late round draft picks for player the Lions would likely otherwise cut would help solidifies his growing reputation .

The Lions first team offense finally came down to Earth.  Matthew Stafford turned in his worst performance of the preseason as his only touchdown pass of the game went to the wrong team. Drayton Florence got his hands on Stafford’s second pass of the game and went 40 yards the other way for six points.

The lack of production out of the starting unit is not as troubling considering their body of work over the entire preseason.

Holding Jahvid Best out of the game allowed the Lions to get extended looks at their other running backs as they are just days away from making final roster decisions. Kevin Smith turned in a better performance and may have done enough to avoid losing his roster spot. Maurice Morris got only three carries but gained good yardage in his limited action. Morris was also very good in pass protection. Aaron Brown’s night was aided by one 14-yard run but has the kind of versatility that NFL teams find valuable. DeDe Dorsey was impressive running and receiving but lost a fumble.  Little may have been settled on the field and the final decision about running back roster spots could come down to trade possibilities. If Martin Mayhew finds he can get something in return for one of his back-up running backs then he might have an easy decision, otherwise the decision could be very difficult.

Landon Cohen and Andre Fluellen each turned in very good performances with the reserve defensive unit. Cohen in particular was a disruptive force and Fluellen showed versatility by playing inside at defensive tackle and outside at defensive end.

Some have speculated that the Lions could choose to part ways with Drew Stanton in order to carry more players at a different position. Stanton, as limited as he may be, was effective in the preseason finale and might not stay off a roster long enough for the Lions to come back to him should they have an injury to Matthew Stafford or Shaun Hill. After watching the Bills trot out Levi Brown is it obvious that teams can do a lot worse than Stanton as their third string quarterback.