With just one preseason game left to go, the Detroit Lions are about to be in an unbelievably time crunch. They have just hours to wrap up their last game against the Indianapolis Colts on the road before beginning to make huge roster cuts.
There are a few remaining notable bubble players, namely rookies, but some journeymen like Roger McCreary and Ben Bartch who are looking to stick with a contending roster for the 2026 season. McCreary has risen throughout training camp and is likely to make the cut, while Bartch would need to have shown enough in the last week of training camp to stick due to injuries throughout the offseason.
This game shouldn't dictate all that much about these cuts, with a lot of those decisions having already been made. We'll be keeping track of the Lions' cuts here, updating with analysis or instant takeaways regarding bubble players or surprising roster decisions.
- Latest Lions roster cuts
- Updated Lions 53-man roster
- Notable cuts
- Potential waiver wire targets from around the league
Last updated: Saturday, August 30, 9:00pm EST
Latest Lions roster cuts
PLAYER | POSITION |
|---|---|
Troy Reeder | Linebacker |
Zach Horton | Tight end |
Myles Adams | Defensive line |
Tyre West | Defensive line |
Greg Dortch | Wide receiver |
Nick Whiteside | Cornerback |
Mason Miller | Offensive lineman |
Chris Smith | Defensive lineman |
Luke Altmyer | Quarterback |
Trayveon Williams | Running back |
Aamaris Brown | Cornerback |
Joe Bachie | Linebacker |
Tyler Conklin | Tight end |
Tom Kennedy | Wide receiver |
Amen Ogbongbemiga | Linebacker |
Ben Stille | Defensive lineman |
Tarik Black | Wide receiver |
Ekow Boye-Doe | Cornerback |
Devin Cochran | Offensive lineman |
Bump Cooper Jr. | Cornerback |
Malik Cunningham | Wide receiver |
Thomas Gordon | Tight end |
Gus Hartwig | Offensive lineman |
Erick Hunter | Linebacker |
Dan Jackson | Safety |
Lucky Jackson | Wide receiver |
Dominic Lovett | Wide receiver |
Anthony Lucas | Edge rusher |
Mason Miller | Offensive lineman |
Melvin Priestly | Offensive lineman |
Eric Scott Jr. | Cornerback |
Colby Sorsdal | Offensive lineman |
Jason Taylor II | Safety |
Roydell Williams | Running back |
Michael Niese | Offensive lineman |
Updated Lions 53-man roster
A star denotes an injured player.
- Current roster: 53 players
- Cuts remaining: 0
QB (2): Jared Goff, Josh Dobbs
RB (5): Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco*, Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small
WR (4): Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Tay Martin
TE (3): Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, Tyler Conklin, Jackson Meeks
OL (9): Penei Sewell, Juice Scruggs, Tate Ratledge, Blake Miller, Christian Mahogany, Miles Frazier, Ben Bartch, Larry Borom, Seth McLaughlin
DT (5): Alim McNeill, Tyleik Williams, Levi Onwuzurike, Mekhi Wingo, Skyler Gill-Howard
EDGE (6): Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum, Derrick Moore*, Tyler Lacy, Ahmed Hassanein, Eric O'Neill
LB (6): Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Devin White, Trevor Nowaske, Jimmy Rolder*
S (4): Chuck Clark, Avonte Maddox, Thomas Harper, Christian Izien
CB (7): D.J. Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Khalil Dorsey, Keith Abney II, Roger McCreary, Christian Izien*
ST: Jake Bates (K), Jack Fox (P), Hogan Hatten (LS)
Placed on reserve/PUP: Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph
Placed on reserve/non-football injury: Giovanni Manu
Placed on reserve/injured: Cade Mays
Notable cuts
Greg Dortch being released by the Lions is an interesting choice. He was in a serious competition to be their main returner, and potentially their WR3.
Nick Whiteside is another surprise after an excellent camp with Detroit. Per Nolan Bianchi of Detroit News, he's a candidate to be brought back on the practice squad, but it's hard to imagine a CB-needy team won't be courting him heavily.
Tom Kennedy missed the cut despite Dortch's exclusion, as well as Dominic Lovett and Lucky Jackson. Wide receiver seems to be where the Lions kept things quite tidy.
Potential waiver wire targets from around the league
S Mark Perry
With still no word on a timeline for a return for either Brian Branch or Kerby Joseph, the Lions' safety depth remains thin. Chuck Clark has been great in camp, but that leaves Detroit to rely on an aging Avonte Maddox to bounce back from a down year in 2025. Adding someone like Perry - solid preseason and training camp for the Green Bay Packers, already in the division, and just 25 years old - could help shore up the room a bit.
CB Kani Walker
Walker was expected to make the Buffalo Bills' 53-man roster after a solid preseason and training camp, and as the Bills are wanton for cornerback depth.
But, they waived the UDFA ahead of Sunday's cutdown deadline, leaving him available to the Lions if they were interested. They could use some depth at cornerback with health regularly being a concern to Ennis Rakestraw Jr., and with just D.J. Reed, Nick Whiteside, and Rock Ya-Sin as "starting caliber" corners on the roster.
S Geno Stone
If you're familiar with the Buffalo Bills' defense over the last few seasons, then you know that Stone was a bit of a problem for them - he struggled in 2025, and was just released by the Bills ahead of the regular season. He was decent in coverage despite those struggles, with NFL writer Matt Lombardo sharing that he was one of 14 safeties to allow fewer than 14.5 yards when in coverage, per PFF.
He could be nice to add to a very thin safety room.
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