For the first time in a long time, the Detroit Lions have a deep roster. That's obviously a credit to the work general manager Brad Holmes has done, and what the coaching staff has done to develop a bevy of young players.
At this point, moving toward the third and final preseason game, you could probably write about 45 players in ink for a Lions' 53-man roster projection looking toward the start of the season. Maybe a few more even. There will be some tough decisions made in getting down from 90 to 53 players by cutdown time on Aug. 29, and maybe even a few surprising cuts. The third preseason game, and this week leading up to it, will be important for some people.
On a different tangent, the Lions could have some players other teams are willing to trade for as they make their own roster tweaks and try reinforce weak areas before the season starts. Trades can be a slipper slope, since you can never have enough depth in a contact sport (or as Mike Ditka once called it, a "collision" sport). But some players just won't have prominent roles, and division of 53 players across all positions won't allow room for everyone.
So as cutdown day approaches and Week 1 coming after that, here are four Lions players who could be traded.
4 Detroit Lions who could be traded as cutdown day and Week 1 near
4. Romeo Okwara
Okwara played a team-high 44 defensive snaps in the preseason opener against the Giants, and he had a nice showing (one sack, six pressures). How much would play in the second preseason game against the Jaguars became a question after he missed last Thursday's practice, but he did not seem to be injured according to Campbell's comments after that day's work.
Well, that question was answered. Okwara played the most defensive snaps of the Lions' front-seven players (47), with three total tackles and no pass rush stats (though he did draw a holding penalty on a nice rush).
There's a solid argument that Okwara simply needs to play after having his last two seasons wrecked by a torn Achilles. But there's another potential angle he is being tepidly showcased for a trade, and until he's on the Lions' roster heading into Week 1 that's slightly more than reckless speculation.