With minicamp this week followed by training camp in July, these four Detroit Lions could lose their jobs to a rookie.
The Detroit Lions have had a fairly quick rebuild, from 3-13-1 in the first year of the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell regime to 9-8 and nearly the playoffs last year. Expectations entering Year 3 of the build include winning the NFC North.
The Lions' roster looks good in many spots, and the competition for jobs and roster spots is sure to be interesting in those spots once the pads go on during training camp. "May the best man win", regardless of contract, experience, draft status or anything else outside of performance.
The addition of some notable draft picks pushed some players off the roster immediately (D'Andre Swift), and some others who remain are now lined up to be pushed and possibly replaced by one of those rookies. All in all, the Lions will have a young roster again this year and the rookie class will have a big say in the success of the team. It's a sustainable model, even if it will eventually require prioritizing who to pay and who not to.
Some may be obvious, while others are a little more subtle. But here are four Lions players who could (or will) lose their job to a rookie. Not necessarily a starting job either, though some favor will be given to those possibilities.