3 Detroit Lions who could surprisingly land on the roster bubble during training camp
Heading toward the start of training camp, these three Detroit Lions players could surprisingly land on the roster bubble.
The Detroit Lions will report to training camp in a little over two weeks now, with the first practice coming in a litttle over three weeks from now.
Some pieces of the Lions’ cut-down to 53 players before the season starts will be interesting, with surprise cuts in play as always. But in terms of who will have starting jobs 1-22 on both sides of the ball, we can confidently predicted most of those.
But what was made clear last year, when wide receiver Breshad Perriman was cut before Week 1 and at times after, is head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions’ coaching staff wants competition. It will be a meritocracy during training camp and the preseason.
With that idea in mind, here are three Detroit Lions players who may surprisingly find themselves on the roster bubble during training camp.
3 Detroit Lions players who may surprisingly land on the roster bubble during training camp
3. LB Alex Anzalone
Anzalone is clearly a favorite of Campbell, and to some degree defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, rooted in shared history with the New Orleans Saints that drove the Lions signing him last offseason.
If he had played all 17 games last season, and not played a total of 20 snaps in the last two he did play before finishing the season on IR due to a shoulder injury, Anzalone might have ended up the Lions’ leading tackler last year. As it was he was fourth on the team with 78 tackles, in what amounted to 12 games.
But Anzalone was awful, with a ton of missed tackles (15, according to Pro Football Reference), and an overall Pro Football Focus grade that was bottom-10 among 94 qualifying linebackers.
Anzalone came back on a cheap one-year deal this offseason. That also means it won’t be expensive to part ways. If rookie Malcolm Rodriguez takes the work he did during OTAs (which impressed coaches) into training camp, Anzalone would be vulnerable to losing his starting job. There’s also the lingering idea of an outside addition to bolster the Lions’ linebacking corps.
Anzalone should be looking over his shoulder as he thinks about the start of training camp. If not for who might take his starting job, quite possibly for who might bump him completely off the Lions’ roster.