The Lions are now nine days into training camp, and every day the roster and depth chart becomes clearer. Let’s take a look at what has been happening since the first time we checked in.
Linebackers taking shape
DeAndre Levy is still not practicing in training camp due to an undisclosed injury. Therefore, the Lions’ starting linebackers if the season started tomorrow would be Josh Bynes, Tahir Whitehead, and Kyle Van Noy. Bynes has only recently started on the weak side role in practice, overtaking Jon Bostic for the time being. Fortunately for this bare-boned positional group, the Lions play nickel defense 75% of the time, so while Van Noy is penciled in as the starter, slot corners like Quandre Diggs will be seeing more time.
DeAndre Levy may not play pre-season
One of the most perplexing storylines of this offseason has been the status of DeAndre Levy. Throughout minicamp and OTA’s, Levy was on the field and practicing with the rest of the defense. Suddenly, he was not a part of training camp because of an injury he suffered, apparently in between OTA’s and the first day of camp. As Kyle Menike pointed out a few days ago, Levy may not be playing any time soon.
I asked Caldwell how much of a priority it was to see Levy in the preseason. Response: "Not a priority."
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) August 3, 2016
This ultimately could just be a precaution for the 29 year old, as Bob Quinn expects him back soon, but it is still worrying. In the end, keeping Levy out of harms way until the season start may be the best option.
Tight End looking set
Eric Ebron may have narrowly avoided a major injury scare last Saturday during the team scrimmage, which is ideal for many reasons. The first, obviously, is that Ebron is poised to play a key role in the Lions’ offense this year. Secondly, the Lions are desperately thin at the tight end position. If Ebron is not fully healthy by week one of the regular season, Cole Wick would be his replacement. That is correct. The undrafted free agent out of Incarnate Word, unless a replacement is signed, would be the Lions’ starting tight end. Fortunately, Wick is impressing coaches and reporters more and more as training camp rolls on. Outside of those top two, the only other tight end that seems to have a shot on the roster is Matthew Mulligan. While this position lacks any sort of depth, it does seem to be more or less ready to go for the start of the season.
Alex Carter is still struggling
Alex Carter has not had a laudable training camp thus far. Reports out of camp have not been complementary to the second year corner from Stanford. To Carter’s credit, this is his first year taking part in camp proceedings, as he was injured throughout the 2015 season. To see what is, inherently, a rookie struggle during training camp is not abnormal. Corner is a notoriously difficult position to transition to from college, so Carter is not alone in this regard.
What is actually worrying, is journeymen such as Darrin Walls, Johnson Bademosi, and Crezdon Butler, as well as rookie undrafted free agent Ian Wells, are all ahead of him on the first unofficial depth chart. While it is unlikely that Carter is cut this season, a strong showing in the preseason is a must for him to see any notable snaps in the regular season.
Defensive tackle surprises
The top half of the defensive line for the Lions this year is nearly set in stone. Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker have been receiving the majority of the 1st team snaps in camp, while rookie 2nd round pick A’Shawn Robinson has been rotating with the 2nd team with Caraun Reid, Stefan Charles, Gabe Wright, and Khyri Thornton. The major surprise here is Thornton, who has been one of the most talked about players on the defense in the past few days of training camp. While defensive tackle may be the deepest position on Detroit’s team this year, Thornton has made his case to be on the roster come late August. For players like Gabe Wright, this is only bad news. Wright, a 4th round pick in the 2014 draft, has been mainly a circumstance of bad luck so far, but has not made the necessary strides to solidify a spot on the team.
Other notable players
Sam Martin: Still good.
Sam Martin booming coffin corner kicks from his own 30. Five of 6 have gone out of bounds inside the 5
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) August 6, 2016
Michael Burton: Burton has been impressing just about everyone who lays eyes on him so far. The Lions only have one true fullback on the roster, so it is good news to see Burton doing so well in camp. Hopefully he can see more time on the field this year, especially in red zone/short yardage situations. He is more than capable of catching balls out of the backfield if needed, too.
Graham Glasgow: Glasgow began working with the 2nd team last week, and has continued to see semi-regular action there since. Gabe Ikard, who has impressed throughout camp, is still seeing 1st and 2nd team reps, but Glasgow could be sneaking in soon.
Don Carey: The forgotten special team’s ace has been, well, largely forgotten throughout camp until yesterday, where he came up with two interceptions off of Matthew Stafford. Carey is fighting for a roster spot with Bademosi, Tavon Wilson (who had a pick himself), and others for one of the final roster spots.
Quinshad Davis: The battle for the 5th, and likely final, wide receiver position is going to come down to five players. Luckily for Davis, he has been improving every day. Making plays left and right on the field, Davis is going to be a tough call when it comes time to trim the roster, but he should at least be able to pick up a practice squad spot if he keeps this up.
Jay Lee: The other undrafted free agent receiver that has been making plays is Jay Lee. During the inter-squad scrimmage last Saturday, Lee was the star of the 2nd team. He has been routinely burning lower level corners in practice, and showed off his skills with aplomb during the mock game. Like Davis, Lee is fighting for the last receiver position, but with a spectacular pre-season, he may find himself on the 53 man roster.
The Lions play their first pre-season game this Friday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The first roster cuts come after the 3rd week of fake football, so players across the roster still have ample chances to impress coaches before then.