Even with some changes in mode after last season's disappointment, though pretty much as expected, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell still rested most of his starters in the preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
However, as position battles moved to a game setting, how much and/or how long some players played could be made to say a lot about their current status on the depth chart. Or, in a harsher sense, roster status could start being called into question based on how playing time was dispersed.
An in-game injury to Ennis Rakestraw altered the equation for the Lions' cornerback group against Cincinnati, so it's hard to know how playing time would've landed without it. Rookie Keith Abney played the most defensive snaps out of the group (46), and camp star Nick Whiteside got quite a bit of run too (33 defensive snaps).
After D.J. Reed and Rock-Ya Sin, Roger McCreary might be considered the Lions' cornerback who is most locked-in to a spot on the 53-man roster right now. Experience and versatility give him a natural edge over others, no matter what his role ultimately looks like when the regular season starts.
But as the legendary Lee Corso would say, "not so fast, my friend."
Is Roger McCreary moving toward the Lions' roster bubble?
Against the Bengals, perhaps somewhat driven by Rakestraw's absence and that leaving six dressed for the game, McCreary played the second-most defensive snaps among Lions' cornerbacks (39). He had four total tackles and one pass breakup, and Campbell briefly praising his work after the game was a positive overall.
But as Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit noted, McCreary played into the fourth quarter against the Bengals. That would typically be territory for guys like Bum Cooper, Khalil Dorsey, Abney or maybe even Whiteside to get run in a preseason opener, before a more-established veteran like him would.
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As the preseason opener neared, and as could be said for a lot of players, Campbell noted how McCreary has been having an "up and down" camp.
As Whiteside has risen, someone would have to fall in a zero-sum battle for a roster spot or two, depending on how many cornerbacks are kept on the initial 53-man roster. That faller could be Rakestraw, at least for some people with that only further fueled by another injury, or it could be McCreary with one preseason game now in the books.
Let's not overreact to one preseason game, and the circumstances that yielded playing time dispersal, but McCreary's roster status is now definitely something to watch. On a cheap one-year deal with just $800,000 in guaranteed salary, he wouldn't be a difficult cut for the Lions if it comes to that.
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