Heading toward OTAs and into the summer on the broader calendar, here are five Detroit Lions players who could be cut.
The Detroit Lions are now moving into full-team OTAs this coming week, followed by minicamp in June. A full-90 man roster will be whittled down to 53 before Week 1, but there will be moves to add and cut plyers in the meantime, as opportunities to improve or churn the depth of the roster naturally surface as other teams make their own.
April’s draft put some current Lions players on the hot seat in looming battles for pecking order and/or a roster spot. Gambling suspensions laid down by the NFL the week before the draft led to some cuts (wide receiver Quintez Cephus, safety C.J. Moore), and before rookie minicamp earlier this month the Lions waived three players (wide receiver Stanley Berryhill, defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor, cornerback Mac McCain).
Some additions have been made (kicker John Parker Romo, rookie undrafted wide receiver Dylan Drummond) to fill out vacated roster spots heading into offseason work, as expected and normal.
The Lions coaching staff will dole out roles and roster spots based on merit, without regard for things less important than actual ability to help the team win.
There’s certainly some transferability from a list of players who could have been cut after the draft to now, with little having gone on in that span of a month or so.
Heading into the summer, here are five Lions players who stand as potential cut candidates.
5 Detroit Lions cut candidates going into the summer
5. OG Logan Stenberg
Stenberg barely played in his first two NFL seasons, after being a fourth-round pick in 2020. Then he started four games for the Lions last season, as injuries simply left them such few options at right guard that they had to go with him. He did not play well, getting a 39.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus while committing three penalties and allowing two sacks over 228 snaps.
Opportunity knocked, however tentatively, and Stenberg performed about as expected–poorly.
The Lions took Colby Sorsdal in the fifth round of the draft, and after playing tackle in college at William & Mary he is making the transition to guard.
Elsewhere deeper on the offensive line depth chart for the Lions, Ross Pierschbacher has versatility (center and guard) that should allow him to stick around some, as does Darrin Paulo (guard and tackle). So Stenberg, as much as anything, was and still is lined up to be the odd-man out in short order. There’s a decent chance he does not make it to June minicamp.
4. RB Craig Reynolds/RB Jermar Jefferson
Reynolds is an easy player to root for, and when he got an opportunity to be the Lions’ lead back for a couple weeks during the 2021 season he made the most of it. An injury landed him on IR for a stretch last season, and he had 23 carries for 102 yards in nine games.
Jefferson was a seventh-round pick by the Lions in 2021. After suiting up for seven games as a rookie, he spent all of last season on the practice squad.
As the Lions reshaped their backfield this offseason, swapping in David Montgomery and Jahmir Gibbs for Jamaal Williams and DeAndre Swift, they also made an interesting undrafted rookie signing in Mohamed Ibrahim. Given the guaranteed money he was given, reportedly $100,000, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher seems to have a very good chance at making the 53-man roster.
One of Reynolds and Jefferson is in line to be gone, perhaps soon even. At a glance, the better betting money is on Jefferson. But in light of letting him find an opportunity elsewhere quickly, the Lions could do Reynolds a proverbial solid and amicably send him on his way.
3. LB/EDGE Julian Okwara
The younger Okwara brother certainly has plenty of potential. But he has not been able to stay healthy, going back into his college career. Last year, it was a leg injury during training camp and then an unlucky elbow injury when he braced himself from falling that ended his season on IR.
Looking purely at the Lions’ edge rusher spot, it’s deep and hard to crack for a substantial role–Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, Romeo Okwara, Charles Harris. Even looking to off-the-ball linebacker, where a place could be found, the Lions go four deep there with capable players (Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes).
Julian Okwara may stick around for awhile on the Lions’ roster this summer, possibly right through training camp and the preseason to final cuts before the regular season starts. But the odds, based purely on a numbers game at the spots he could stick at, are against him making it to Week 1 on the final 53 in Detroit.
2. PK Michael Badgley
After the Lions had a revolving door at kicker over the 2021 season and into last year, Badgley deserves a ton of credit for coming in and stabilizing the situation. He was not flawless, subject to a Jim Nantz announcer’s jinx on Thanksgiving when he missed what should have been a makeable field goal, but overall he was very good (20-for-24 on field goals, a perfect 33-for-33 on extra points over 12 games).
The Lions re-signed Badgley in March, but the idea of adding an upgrade to replace him (Robbie Gould?) surfaced in some circles. Many Lions fans clamored for the drafting of a kicker, like Michigan’s Jake Moody (who was taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round), but that didn’t happen.
Coming off a good run kicking in the XFL for the San Antonio Brahmas this season (17-for-19 on field goals, 9-for-10 from 40 yards-plus out, named to the All-XFL Team), John Parker Romo was an interesting invite to Lions’ rookie minicamp for a tryout. Off what was apparently a good showing there, he was signed to compete with Badgley.
Badgley is a solid kicker, but he has been well-traveled for a reason. Romo seems to have a stronger leg, if nothing else, and his opportunity to win the kicking job for the Lions starts with OTAs this week.
Maybe he ends up beating out Romo, the metaphorical shiny new toy in the Lions’ placekicker battle, but Badgley has undeniably been put on notice.
1. TE Shane Zylstra
It’s a well-worn sentiment here and elsewhere by now, but the Lions’ tight end was begging for a talent injection and the draft brought one in Sam LaPorta. LaPorta has an opportunity to immediately become the TE1, and even if he’s not technically listed atop the depth chart he is in lin for a notable role.
So with the notable addition to the depth chart, comes a shift in the pecking order and questions over who may or may not stick around.
Zylstra, and Lions’ fans, will always have the memory of his three-touchdown outburst against the Carolina Panthers last season. But in his other career games, combined, he has one touchdown (also last season) and nine catches for 68 yards.
The Lions seem to like Brock Wright a lot, it’s just that he’s not a No. 1 tight end on a good team. James Mitchell has latent and interesting potential coming off a somewhat truncated rookie season, driven by the recovery from a torn ACL in his final college season. Derrick Deese Jr. could stick around for a bit through offseason work, after being an interesting undrafted signing last year.
So that leaves Zylstra, as the TE3? in a best-case scenario but most likely the TE4 for the Lions. Being let go and eventually coming back on the practice squad if other opportunities dry up is definitely possible. But Zystra is a pretty easy No. 1 for this list heading into the summer.