The Detroit Lions have one more preseason game on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and after that the team will turn its attention to final cuts, which fall on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Then, it's time to focus on preparing for Week 1.
Unlike earlier in head coach Dan Campbell's tenure when the team was rebuilding, the Lions don't have a ton of open spots up for grabs this year, as the team sports one of the very best rosters in the NFL following a trip to the NFC title game in 2023.
On Tuesday, Campbell estimated that there are about five or six roster spots up for grabs ahead of final cuts, according to Benjamin Raven of MLive.com.
“(General manager) Brad (Holmes) and I were talking yesterday (Monday). We had another evaluation with the coaches, personnel department and, probably, he and I, you know, probably five, six, somewhere in there,” Campbell said. “Five or six, give or take. And some of it will have, one could have a bearing on another position and vice versa. There is still, and I told the team this morning, for a number of those guys, that, man, there are still open spots here. If you want it, go get it.
“I would say it’s body of work. You have to look at the totality of it, but body of work as long as it’s continued to improve," Campbell added. "Some of these guys that have caught our eye, man, it needs to show up again this week and in the game. Otherwise, it takes a dip, ‘Well, can we really trust it?’ That’ll be the -- Some of these guys have just consistently gotten better."
Among the position groups that are definitely unsettled is wide receiver, where the Lions have been looking for someone to step up to take those final two or three spots on the depth chart.
While it remains to be seen who will grab those spots, Campbell made it clear that Kalif Raymond is the team's third-best wide receiver currently and is slated to be the top option on the outside opposite Jameson Williams. Of course, Amon-Ra St. Brown is the team's best receiver and top slot option, but he can play outside, too.
However, the Lions head coach prefers that someone else step up in that X role to free Raymond up for the other things he does, like returns and gadget plays, for example.
Not to mention, Raymond has a smaller frame that isn't really suited for a heavy workload and an outside receiver spot.
"[Raymond] is receiver three right now,” Campbell said, according to Erik Schlitt of Pride of Detroit. “The idea has always been we love Leaf [Raymond] as a returner and Leaf brings a different skill set to the receiver position. He’s got a little gadgetry, he’s got some quickness underneath, and he’s a returner. To maximize both, boy you’d love 20 plays a game, 25 plays a game. So, we’d rather not play him 65 plays a game, but we will if we have to. So yeah, he’s receiver three right now and that’s fine. But that’s why it would be nice to have somebody step up (in the WR-X role) because that just helps the room and I think it makes everybody a little more potent, that’s all. And yes, we trust Leaf. Very much.”
The thought was that Donovan Peoples-Jones would easily grab that job, but he has had a disappointing offseason, something even Campbell pointed out recently. He has since praised DPJ for making progress after preseason Week 1, though.
The other standout through preseason play has been undrafted free agent Isaiah Williams, who leads the team in receiving during exhibition play. But he's been operating out of the slot, so that doesn't help Detroit with its X receiver issue.
As we've said all offseason, the Lions need to add another player at the position, as there are just too many question marks for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. It's easier said than done, but that doesn't change the fact that Detroit needs to make a move.
