Dan Campbell acknowledges drastic difference between 2021 roster cuts and now

The Detroit Lions have their preseason finale on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, then roster cuts from 90 to 53 players are coming next Tuesday (Aug. 27). This week on Tuesday Campbell acknowledged there's really only "five or six" spots up for grabs on the 53-man roster.

When Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes came to Detroit in 2021, they were taking on a tough rebuild from the ashes left behind by Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn. They also honored Matthew Stafford's desire not to be part of another rebuild, adding Jared Goff to a roster that was not very good.

On Wednesday, Campbell acknowledged how different roster cut day will be this year compared to three years ago.

Dan Campbell knows first-hand how things have changed on roster cut day for the Lions

"It’s changed significantly. I mean, shoot, ’21, we were wide open. Literally wide open," Campbell said. "You had an idea (offensive lineman Penei) Sewell was gonna make it, we drafted him seventh overall. And you have an idea on some of these guys, but there was a whole roster of, ‘We have no idea.’ We don’t know who’s gonna be the next receiver, linebacker position, the D-line. It was wide open."

"So now here we are, you feel like you’ve tied down most of these spots. We’re gonna have to let go of some good players I think, ultimately, that I think can play in this league at some point at different positions. That’s a hard thing to do. But it also shows where our roster is at to this point. It’s grown a ton. Brad’s done a helluva job.” 

Campbell added how he'll defer to Holmes when it comes to the added element of building the practice squad.

"I’ll be honest with you, I lean on Brad with that," Campbell said. "That is 100 percent, I just go to him, I say, ‘What do you think?’ Old wise one, you let me know because I have no idea. He has not missed yet. When he’s told me something, going on four years, he has not missed. I have a lot of trust in what Brad says. For me, that’s where I turn and we’ll go from there.” 

Campbell and Holmes have been the tandem that's built the Lions into one of the best teams in the NFL. A huge part of that is being of the same mind on things. Trust and knowing their lane is also important to the collaboration. It's no surprise Campbell knows his lane, and will defer to Holmes on certain matters.