5 Detroit Lions players who could lose their 53-man roster spot to Tim Patrick

3. S Loren Strickland

To his great credit, as an undrafted rookie out of Ball State, Strickland went out and won a spot on the 53-man roster during camp and the preseason. But his path to playing time has always felt pretty blocked, with the action he does see mostly (if not entirely) to come on special teams. He missed Week 1 with a thumb injury, then played five special teams snaps in Week 2.

To be frank, 5-10 special teams snaps a week are easy to replace. Even with Ifeatu Melifonwu's injury situation taking a negative turn last week, it's unlikely Strickland would see defensive snaps at safety.

Strickland is another guy who can probably land back on the practice squad if/when he clears waivers. If it means making room for Patrick, losing him is an easy risk to take.

2. WR Isaiah Williams

Even seen as redundant in the Lions' wide receiver corps, as a smaller, slot receiver type, Williams simply made himself impossible to ignore with his preseason showing. Campbell's call for someone to step up was only answered by him.

But Williams did not play a snap in Week 1, and a midweek abdomen injury sidelined him in Week 2. His injury outlook is simply unclear right now, but more missed games would not be surprising. Placement on IR wouldn't be out of the question, for that matter, but that's very speculative.

Williams is a great story and he won a spot on the 53-man roster. But he's simply buried on the depth chart, and a 1-for-1 swap out at wide receiver looks like the cleanest way to make room for Patrick on the active roster. Maybe the rest of the league has forgotten about Williams and he comes back on the practice squad if he is let go.