Assessing Lions' roster entering offseason's home stretch: Locks, near-locks and odds for talent on the bubble
Allen Park — We’re days away from the Detroit Lions establishing the team’s initial 53-man roster. This is the stretch run of the offseason, with one joint practice and the preseason finale against the Houston Texans to round out the evaluations.
With no media access on Wednesday, let’s take aim at where the roster stands, starting with who we view as the roster locks.
Offense
QB Jared Goff, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB David Montgomery, RB Craig Reynolds, RB Sione Vaki, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Jameson Williams, WR Isaac TeSlaa, WR Kalif Raymond, TE Sam LaPorta, TE Brock Wright, OT Penei Sewell, OT Taylor Decker, OT Giovanni Manu, G Christian Mahogany, OL Graham Glasgow, OL Tate Ratlege
Defense
Edge Aidan Hutchinson, Edge Marcus Davenport, Edge Al-Quadin Muhammad, DT DJ Reader, DT Tyleik Williams, DT Roy Lopez, LB Alex Anzalone, LB Jack Campbell, LB Derrick Barnes, LB Grant Stuard, CB Terrion Arnold, CB DJ Reed, CB Amik Robertson, DB Avonte Maddox, DB Rock Ya-Sin, S Kerby Joseph, S Brian Branch
Specialists
P Jack Fox, K Jake Bates, LS Hogan Hatten
Now the near-locks. These are guys I’m not willing to slap the 100% label on, but they’re not far off. If any were left off the initial roster, I’d be surprised.
Offense: QB Kyle Allen, WR Tim Patrick, OT Dan Skipper
Defense: DT Pat O’Connor, LB Trevor Nowaske, CB Khalil Dorsey
There are also a handful of injured players who make the above lists if healthy. That includes the obvious, like defensive tackle Alim McNeill and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. Also in this group are the unknowns, led by defensive lineman Josh Paschal and rookie Ahmed Hassanein.
Paschal has been on the non-football injury all training camp, with the latest intel being that he’ll be ready to practice in September. Does that mean he stays on NFI the first four weeks of the season? We can’t say for certain.
As for Hassanein, he suffered a pec injury in last weekend’s preseason game against the Dolphins. He posted on social media that he won't require surgery, only “time to heal.” Still, there’s a reasonable chance he starts the season on injured reserve. The team has the right to put two players on that list during cutdown day without them counting toward the 53-man roster. Hassanein feels like a strong candidate.
Not counting the injured players, that’s 43 locks or near locks. That leaves 10 spots up for grabs. Below are the candidates for those jobs, and our assessment of each of them earning one.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker
Hooker’s clear improvements on the practice field haven’t translated to the preseason games, where he’s posted a dismal 36.1 passer rating and lost two fumbles. Allen has essentially won the backup job, with Hooker’s chances of sticking hinging on whether Detroit wants to carry three quarterbacks to continue the former third-round pick’s development.
Roster odds: 55%
Wide receiver Tim Patrick
Yes, we put Patrick in the near-lock category above. Still, allow me to explain the thought process.