Erik Schlitt has 5 quick thoughts on the Detroit Lions’ initial 53… uh… 52-man roster.
The Detroit Lions have established their initial 53-man roster (though it currently sits at 52), and while there weren’t any drastic surprises, there were a few things that warrant some extra attention. Here are five quick thoughts on the decisions the Lions made to get to their initial roster, as well as what could happen from this point on.
Roster gymnastics: Why John Cominsky is still on the roster (and Kyle Peko is not)
If a player is injured during training camp and placed on injured reserve, their season is deemed over by the NFL (unless the two sides can reach an injury settlement). But in 2024, a new rule was implemented that allows teams to place two injured players onto injured reserve at cutdowns, while still maintaining their ability to return during the season.
For the past few weeks, the Lions appeared to be anticipating using those two spots on injured veterans Emmanuel Moseley (pec) and John Cominsky (MCL), but when the final cutdowns were released, it was Moseley and Brodric Martin (who was injured in the third preseason game) who claimed the two spots , and Cominksy remains on the active roster.
Cominsky is projected to be unable to return until the end of the season, and will still likely need to be placed on injured reserve. Because the Lions still want to keep the door open for him to return, they’ll have to do some roster gymnastics. With both new IR rule spots claimed, the Lions will need to keep Cominsky on the active roster for 24 hours before they can place him on injured reserve in order to keep the option to return open.
That means, Wednesday afternoon (after 4 p.m. ET), look for Cominsky to be placed on injured reserve, which in turn will open up a spot on the Lions roster. Once this happens, it would make sense that the team would re-sign a veteran defensive lineman like Kyle Peko (who was released at cutdowns) who could play at the nose tackle spot, seeing as Martin is now on IR and DJ Reader is unlikely to play until Week 2.
Lions appear comfortable with Hendon Hooker as QB2
Early last week, coach Dan Campbell declared that Nate Sudfeld was ahead of Hendon Hooker on the depth chart and there was a “good chance” the team kept three quarterbacks on the roster.
“Hooker is a young developing quarterback and he needs reps and he needs time. I do know that,” Campbell said. “And Nate right now has the upper hand because he’s played more. He’s been in it more, he’s seen it more, and so with that, that would tell you there’s a good chance you could keep three (quarterbacks on the 53-man roster).”
Things further seemed to point toward Sudfeld being safe when he was held out of the Lions’ final preseason game. But it’s also worth noting that the Lions were hoping to get a longer look at what Hooker could do—which apparently was enough, as the team released Sudfeld at cutdowns .
Over three games, Hooker was 29 of 44 passing (66% completion rate) for 300 yards, a touchdown, an interception, as well as 138 yards rushing (7.3 yards per rush average) and another touchdown.
While the statistics are on target, Hooker showed marked improvement in his ability to read progressions, with his pocket footwork, as well as his leadership, which all likely played a factor in the Lions feeling comfortable with him in this role.
Look for the Lions to add at least one quarterback to the practice squad—with Sudfeld and Jake Fromm being the most likely candidates—so that they have options to turn to for depth and insurance.
Still in search of WR-X
The Lions have made it clear they are looking for a player to win their WR-X job, but after lackluster performances led to the release of Donovan Peoples-Jones and Daurice Fountain, as well as Antoine Green landing on injured reserve, Detroit has run out of in-house options for the role.
In the short term, the Lions will likely lean on their other offensive skill players to pick up the slack, most notably wide receiver Kalif Raymond. Campbell confidently tabbed Raymond as the team’s third-best option at wide receiver , even though he was likely better suited for a role different than WR-X. That being said, Raymond has previously shown capable of playing the WR-X role (in 2021), and last season, the Lions significantly increased Amon-Ra St. Brown’s usage at the WR-X, which should give them enough offensive options at the beginning of the season.
Ideally, the Lions will want to find a long-term solution for the physically demanding WR-X role, so as not to increase the wear and tear on St. Brown and/or Raymond, and this could very well be why the Lions are keeping a spot open on the roster.
Unfortunately at this stage of the process, the Lions’ options are limited to trading for a player or rummaging through the waiver wire/free agency pool looking for talent. While this is not the ideal way to find a player for a key contribution role, there are a few intriguing names out there to keep an eye on, including Noah Brown (released from the Texans ), Terrance Marshall (waived from the Panthers), Isaiah Hodgins (waived from the Giants) and Tim Patrick (released by the Broncos).
James Houston over Isaac Ukwu
James Houston entered training camp looking to prove he was healthy and ready to return to form in 2024. The Lions were planning on expanding his role beyond just being a pass rusher and gave him a shot at the SAM linebacker role. Unfortunately, Houston struggled at SAM and the Lions scaled things back for him asking to focus solely on the defensive end/pass rushing position. This was a return to what he does best and an opportunity to establish himself on the roster, but a mid-camp injury took away that opportunity and opened the door for others.
Enter Isaac Ukwu, an undrafted rookie out of the University of Mississippi, who not only registered a sack in each of the Lions’ three preseason games but also showed the ability to play the run and contribute in multiple roles. While the upside is undeniable, Ukwu lacked experience—he wasn’t even a starter at Ole Miss —which ultimately could have been his biggest limitation.
Houston flashed elite pass rushing skills as a rookie, registering eight sacks in seven games, but we haven’t seen those skills in over a year and a half because of injury and the attempted position switch. Houston would have one final chance to show off his skills during the Lions’ third preseason game, where he collected three pressures and a sack, on his way to recording the highest overall PFF grade (89.7) among all the players in that game.
With that final push, along with his history of displaying elite skills, Houston did enough to edge out Ukwu and make the roster.
3 UDFAs make Lions’ initial roster, keep streak alive
For the past 14 seasons, at least one undrafted rookie free agent has made the Lions’ initial roster. This year, despite the Lions upgrading a roster already in Super Bowl contention, they still managed to have two UDFAs make their initial roster: wide receiver Isaiah Williams, defensive back Loren Strickland, and long snapper Hogan Hatten.
Williams was trending toward making the roster after stringing together strong preseason performances combined with the aforementioned lack of standouts at the WR-X position.
Strickland has shown steady improvement throughout camp, showing well on special teams and eventually displaying Brian Branch-like range in the secondary. His ability to play two-high safety, as well as drop into the slot and cover pass catchers or stop the run is impressive and a big feather in his cap.
“He just keeps making plays and that’s a great thing,” Campbell said during training camp. “He’s one of those players that I say it’s hard to ignore him. So, he’s caught our eye and he’s got a knack for playing the ball, he’s got a knack for finding the ball and getting it down, and he’s smart. Man, he’s smart. Conscientious player, and to your point, he plays all out. He is lights out and he’s an aggressive player. So, we got our eye on him. He’s doing well.”
Hatten joined the Lions with the reputation of being one of the most athletic long snappers in history and he showed off his pursuit skill right from the jump.
“One of the reasons we wanted to bring Hogan in was, he was intriguing in his coverage ability,” Campbell said. “He did play linebacker in college. So, he runs pretty good, and he kind of has an awareness on the football.”
Campbell did go on to say that they needed to make sure that Hatten could still consistently snap the ball in pressure situations—which is likely why he took the majority of snaps in the preseason—but he apparently did enough to convince the Lions he is capable.