3 Detroit Lions veterans who could be cut after the draft

3. CB/S Will Harris

After being an eminently replaceable, and truly not NFL-caliber, safety for the better part of three seasons, Harris was pressed into duty at cornerback late last season when injuries slammed the Lions’ secondary. He was, at least mostly, adequate as an outside corner.

Harris versatility is valued as has been noted by Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and head coach Dan Campbell, to the point the Lions’ head coach tongue-in-cheekly invented a new position in the secondary last month.

"I think Will, part of his strength is his versatility. That’s one of his greatest attributes, which we came to find out last year,” “I think he’s a jack of all trades. We’re still talking right now, you just go out day one, do you put him at corner or do you put him at safety? I’ll be honest, we haven’t just locked that down right now. We’re still kinda talking about it. That’s not a bad thing.” He’s a cafety,” Campbell joked. “Yeah, he’s a hybrid. He really is. He’s a jack of all trades.”"

Harris’ exact role in Detroit’s secondary for 2022 is up in the air, but it’s pretty clear he will not lead (or have to lead) the entire defense in snaps like he did last season (1,012 snaps, by the way). Rookie draft picks Kerby Joseph and Chase Lucas look like locks for roster spots, and the depth added at safety (DeShon Elliott) and corner (Mike Hughes) in free agency will push some people off the roster. If an undrafted free agent surfaces like  Jerry Jacobs did last year, then the battle for roster spots will get tighter.

Lions fans have joked and will joke that Harris’ new position should be called “left out.”  In a potential numbers crunch in the secondary he may indeed eventually be left out, and the Lions can clear out most ($2.54 million) of his $2.78 million cap hit by cutting him at any point.