The Detroit Lions will kick off their live action for the 2023 season when they play their first preseason game against the New York Giants on Friday night. Training camp and the exhibition season will guide how the Lions formulate their roster for the upcoming season — a roster that has seen ample improvement and now sits as the favorite in the NFC North.
Let’s run through Detroit’s 90-man roster and determine how they’ll trim to 53 before the NFL‘s Aug. 29 cutdown deadline.
Detroit Lions 53-Man Roster Projection
Quarterback
- In: Jared Goff, Teddy Bridgewater
- Non-Football Injury (NFI) List: Hendon Hooker
- Out: Adrian Martinez, Nate Sudfeld
After carrying two quarterbacks for the majority of last season, the Lions are likely to take a similar approach in 2023. Goff returns as Detroit’s starter coming off a Pro Bowl campaign, but Detroit added a new backup QB on Monday when they signed Bridgewater.
Bridgewater made two starts in relief of Tua Tagovailoa last season but ultimately succumbed to multiple injuries of his own. He’s still one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL, and his addition likely means Sudfeld is headed to the Lions’ practice squad.
Hooker is still on the NFI list after tearing his ACL in November. Head coach Dan Campbell has repeatedly referred to next season as a “redshirt year” for Hooker. We’re projecting the Tennessee product to begin the year on the NFI list, which will cost him at least four games, and he could theoretically stay there all year.
Running Back
- In: David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Craig Reynolds, Justin Jackson, Jason Cabinda (FB)
- Out: Mohamed Ibrahim, Jermar Jefferson
Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift are out, and Montgomery and Gibbs are in. Those two new additions should eat up most of Detroit’s vacated touches as the team’s thunder-and-lightning duo, but there are still plenty of running back snaps to go around.
Reynolds will likely make the Lions’ roster due to his special teams ability. Meanwhile, Detroit just reunited with Jackson on a one-year contract, so he’s also a favorite to earn a roster spot. It’s difficult to imagine the Lions retaining five RBs plus a fullback in Cabinda, but if they do, the final spot will go to Jefferson.
Wide Receiver
- In: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Jones Jr., Kalif Raymond, Denzel Mims, Dylan Drummond
- Suspended: Jameson Williams (six games)
- Out: Maurice Alexander, Trinity Benson, Chase Cota, Avery Davis, Antoine Green, Trey Quinn
Williams’ gambling suspension means the Lions will have an extra roster spot for the first six games of the season. Still, Detroit doesn’t necessarily have the WR depth to keep an abundance of pass catchers, so we’re sticking with six wideouts for now.
Raymond has received reps with the Lions’ first-team offense, but Jones could begin taking more snaps as he works his way back from an injury. Reynolds, Jones, and Raymond could rotate opposite St. Brown until Williams returns to the field.
Mims isn’t a roster lock, but we’re betting on a change of scenery doing the former Jets second-round pick good. And Drummond — an undrafted rookie free agent — has been shining during training camp, so much so that he could make the roster over Green, Detrot’s seventh-round pick in April’s draft.
Tight End
- In: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, James Mitchell
- Out: Darrell Daniels, Daniel Helm, Shane Zylstra (IR)
LaPorta may have a more straightforward path to a starting role than any other 2023 rookie tight end. Wright became the Lions’ starter following the T.J. Hockenson trade, but he still managed just 18 receptions for 216 yards.
Zylstra may have had a chance to make Detroit’s roster this year, but he’s out for the season after suffering a knee injury in training camp. Daniels and Helm aren’t legitimate contenders for the Lions’ TE3 role, but one or both could land on the team’s practice squad.
Offensive Line
- In: Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Matt Nelson, Colby Sorsdal, Ross Pierschbacher
- Out: Kayode Awosika, Brad Cecil, Obinna Eze, Connor Galvin, Bobby Hart, Germain Ifedi, Darrin Paulo, Logan Stenberg, Ryan Swoboda
Detroit is set at four of five offensive line positions, but right guard is still up in the air. Although Vaitai entered the offseason as the presumptive starter, Glasgow — who rejoined the Lions this year after several seasons in Denver — has been taking first-team reps. If Glasgow starts, Vaitai (who can play both tackle and guard) will become a super-sub.
Nelson should be Detroit’s top swing tackle, while Sorsdal could start at either right or left guard in the near future. Pierschbacher is our pick for the final spot over Hart, Eze, Ifedi, and Stenberg, but he’s not a lock yet.
Defensive Tackle
- In: Alim McNeill, Isaiah Buggs, Brodric Martin, Christian Covington
- Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List: Levi Onwuzurike
- Out: Cory Durden, Benito Jones, Chris Smith
We’re going light at defensive tackle, but the Lions have plenty of edge rushers capable of sliding inside on passing downs. McNeill looks like a clear starter, and Covington could earn his fair share of snaps after spending the past two seasons with the Chargers.
Onwuzurike remains the biggest question for Detroit’s defensive line. The former second-round pick dealt with a back injury during his rookie season and then missed the entire 2022 campaign after aggravating the issue during training camp. Campbell said in June that there is no timeline on Onwuzurike’s recovery, so our best guess is that he starts the season on the PUP list.
EDGE
- In: Aidan Hutchinson, John Cominsky, Charles Harris, Josh Paschal, Romeo Okwara, James Houston
- Out: None
Hutchinson, Cominsky, and Paschal have all shown the ability to slide inside on passing downs, which should allow the Lions to keep just four defensive tackles on their initial roster.
Hutchinson was a down-ballot Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate last season, and the Lions are expecting him to take a significant leap forward as he enters his second NFL campaign. Houston, another 2002 rookie, managed eight sacks last year despite not suiting up until Week 11.
Paschal didn’t do much during his rookie campaign, but his second-round draft pedigree should keep him safe. Meanwhile, both Harris and Okwara accepted pay cuts this offseason, meaning they should remain on the roster barring a drastic change of plans in Detroit.
Linebacker
- In: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin
- Out: Trevor Nowaske, Julian Okwara, Anthony Pittman
Rodriguez made a lot of plays as a rookie sixth-rounder last season, but Detroit’s decision to re-sign Anzalone and use the 18th overall pick on Campbell should push Rodriguez into a depth role outside of base defensive packages. Anzalone and Campbell will likely handle as many snaps as they can manage.
Barring injury, Barnes won’t come anywhere near his 30% usage rate, but he’s still a valuable contributor on special teams. The same goes for Reeves-Maybin as he returns to Detroit after a one-year layover with the Texans.
Cornerback
- In: Cameron Sutton, Jerry Jacobs, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Will Harris, Chase Lucas, Starling Thomas V
- PUP: Emmanuel Moseley
- Out: Khalil Dorsey, Tae Hayes, Steven Gilmore, Jarren Williams
Sutton is now Detroit’s CB1 after leaving the Steelers this offseason, while Gardner-Johnson will start in the slot but could have been listed either here or with the safeties, thanks to the various roles he’ll likely play in 2023.
Moseley is on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn ACL. For now, we’re projecting that he’ll stick on PUP into the regular season and miss at least the first four games, but that is clearly subject to change.
Jacobs would start opposite Sutton on the outside if Moseley isn’t ready for the regular seasonide. Harris should be Detroit’s top backup in the slot, while Moseley’s absence would mean Lucas and Thomas don’t have to compete for the final spot in the Lions’ defensive backfield.
Safety
- In: Kerby Joseph, Tracy Walker III, Brian Branch, Ifeatu Melifonwu
- Out: Brady Breeze, Brandon Joseph, Saivion Smith
Joseph and Walker will start at safety, but the Lions don’t have much veteran depth behind that duo. Gardner-Johnson can play safety but will be counted on in the slot. Branch boasts the same type of versatility, but Detroit might not want to put too much on the second-round rookie’s plate.
If the Lions keep only four safeties, Melifonwu — a third-rounder pick in 2021 — should be viewed as the favorite over Smith. But Detroit’s staff obviously likes Smith, who’s bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2019. He started at safety after being promoted from the practice squad in October, only to suffer a season-ending injury after just two snaps.
Specialists
- In: Riley Patterson (K), Jack Fox (P), Scott Daly (LS)
- Out: Parker Romo (K)
The Lions released Michael Badgley in July, leaving Patterson and Romo to compete for placekicker duties. Detroit actually gave up something for Patterson this offseason (even if it was only a conditional 2026 seventh-rounder), so we’re sticking with him over Romo for now. But this will battle is far from over and could take the entire preseason to play out.
Detroit released 35-year-old long snapper Jake McQuaide this week, opening the door for Daly to serve as the Lions’ LS for the third straight season.
