As the Detroit Lions have risen to success, they've faced some tough decisions when it comes time to cut the roster down to 53 players. In recent years there's been one absolute deadline league-wide to be down to a final 53 heading into the regular season, so the majority of those cuts come then in one huge swoop.
Each year there are some notable names who get cut, and with that in mind Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network recently offered one shocking cut candidate for each NFL team as training camps get going.
Infante's cut candidate for the Lions is defensive lineman Josh Paschal.
"The Detroit Lions are surely grateful to have Aidan Hutchinson coming back from injury, and Marcus Davenport is the presumed starter alongside him at defensive end. What the rest of that position’s group will look like is anyone’s guess, though."
"Josh Paschal was a second-round pick in 2022, but the results haven’t lived up to the hype quite yet. He has five sacks through three seasons and failed to stand out for the Lions last year, despite starting in 10 games. Al-Quadin Muhammad could be competition for a roster spot, but sixth-round rookie Ahmed Hassanein has the potential to overtake Paschal’s role."
Will the Lions cut Josh Paschal?
Paschal set career-highs in games played (14), starts (10) and snaps (549) last season, with two sacks, 21 total tackles and five tackles for loss. Beyond those milquetoast surface stats, his pass rush win rate (5.5 percent) and overall PFF grade were both outside the top-100 among edge rushers.
Since the Lions made him a top-50 overall pick in the 2022 draft, injuries have been a significant factor for Paschal. But even when mostly healthy last season, he was not overly productive (or more broadly noticeable) as injuries ravaged the Lions' defense. Opportunity has theoretically knocked a few times now, and he hasn't been able to answer.
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In a vacuum, the Lions cutting Paschal would not be a shock if it came to that. But there's an extra layer involved since Infante's list was published.
The idea of the Lions cutting Paschal is necessarily complicated by his opening training camp on the Non-Football Injury list with an undisclosed issue. Head coach Dan Campbell has already offered early September as the timeline for when he'll be able to practice, which of course is after roster cutdown day.
In a worst-case scenario, with the timing of the move an overall factor, Paschal could be placed on IR and miss at least the first four games of the season.
Leaving aside his name and draft status, Paschal has a non-zero chance to be cut by the Lions when the time comes in late-August. Being on the NFI list for what's currently expected to be all of training camp looks likely save him from that fate, and postpone his inevitable departure until after the season.