While we've seen a ton of positive reports out of Detroit Lions training camp, that doesn't mean that there aren't some players beginning to float firmly onto the roster bubble.
At positions of need - cornerback, edge rusher, and offensive line - we've seen some great competition so far, and a few players have stood out as potential sleeper picks to make the 53-man roster. Ahmed Hassanein, Tyler Lacy, and Nick Whiteside are great examples of this. That also leaves some guys naturally on the outside looking in.
One specific players hasn't been able to make a lot of noise based on reports from Lions media on the ground at camp, and it could force them into a cut candidate pool very early: Roger McCreary.
One Lions cut candidates headed into second week of training camp
We've heard rave reviews about Whiteside throughout camp, while we've also heard that Rock Ya-Sin and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. are earning first and second team reps off and on as both are showing different flashes. While the nickel back position doesn't sound very fleshed out, Rakestraw or rookie Keith Abney II can figure as the answer for Detroit there.
One player we haven't heard much about is McCreary. The cornerback was brought in during free agency for his versatility in the slot and as an outside corner, with hopes that there was something more under the surface than a few middling seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams. It was a low-cost, low-risk signing, and it's looking like that's the only positive return on McCreary so far - the fact that getting him didn't cost Detroit much.
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LionsOnSI's Vito Chirco wrote of his camp showings this week:
"As for McCreary, he's unfortunately struggled mightily in coverage since the beginning of camp. And on Thursday, he had one of his worst days yet. Notably, he got beaten on a hitch route by Tom Kennedy and beaten vertically by Malik Cunningham. Then, later in the day, he coughed up a touchdown to Dominic Lovett in a red-zone drill. All in all, McCreary – who split time with the Titans and Rams last season – has not looked the part of a capable cover corner thus far in camp."
With some surprising depth at cornerback lurking for the Lions behind Whiteside, Ya-Sin, Abney, and Rakestraw, any missteps by McCreary feel magnified. If he can't prove to be a capable nickel back at the very least, he could end up being one of the Lions' few missteps in free agency from this offseason.
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