There was more than one surprise Saturday for Detroit fans after the Lions announced their final 53-man roster. Undrafted rookie Adairius Barnes who hasn’t received much attention throughout the summer and preseason was able to outplay both Alex Carter and Darrin Walls for one of the final spots on the Detroit roster.
Detroit made the decision to fill 11 of the 53 spots available with defensive linemen, but didn’t give one of them to Gabe Wright, the team’s fourth round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
While both of these choices were noticed by Lions fans, the decision to only keep four wide receivers on the roster received the most attention. The real shocker was the fact that TJ Jones wasn’t one of the four receivers who the Lions kept..
This …show more content…
TJ Jones, Jace Billingsley, and Isaac Fruechte will all be available for promotion and the fact that Detroit doesn’t even have three defensive players on the practice squad shows the Lions know they may need an additional body or two throughout the season at the receiver position.
After spending two seasons with the team already, Jones gives the team some insurance due to being familiar with Matthew Stafford. Fruechte and Billingsley are considered great receivers who the Lions will be able to develop in the future and will more than likely only find the active roster if the Lions are in a real scrape at the position.
Because of the abilities of the receivers the Lions do have on their roster, there is a lot of shuffling around Detroit can do if there is an injury during a game. Andre Roberts, Anquan Boldin, and Golden Tate all have experience both playing on the outside and at the slot position. When you add the abilities of Marvin Jones to the mix, Detroit will have no problem switching up the roles for different formations and filling in spots as needed during a …show more content…
This decision could be a sign that Eric Ebron is healthier than what Detroit has led on. Ebron will be a huge presence in the passing game for Detroit and head coach Jim Caldwell surely had this in mind when the team was making their final cuts.
Caldwell could also be planning to use Theo Riddick out of the slot this season. While most of them came out of the backfield, Riddick was able to catch 80 passes for the Lions in in 2015.
On paper, limiting themselves to four wide receivers may have looked like risky business for the Detroit Lions. However, with the personnel they had to choose from, the move could end up being another wise idea that establishes Bob Quinn as a premier general manager within the
Detroit made the decision to fill 11 of the 53 spots available with defensive linemen, but didn’t give one of them to Gabe Wright, the team’s fourth round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
While both of these choices were noticed by Lions fans, the decision to only keep four wide receivers on the roster received the most attention. The real shocker was the fact that TJ Jones wasn’t one of the four receivers who the Lions kept..
This …show more content…
TJ Jones, Jace Billingsley, and Isaac Fruechte will all be available for promotion and the fact that Detroit doesn’t even have three defensive players on the practice squad shows the Lions know they may need an additional body or two throughout the season at the receiver position.
After spending two seasons with the team already, Jones gives the team some insurance due to being familiar with Matthew Stafford. Fruechte and Billingsley are considered great receivers who the Lions will be able to develop in the future and will more than likely only find the active roster if the Lions are in a real scrape at the position.
Because of the abilities of the receivers the Lions do have on their roster, there is a lot of shuffling around Detroit can do if there is an injury during a game. Andre Roberts, Anquan Boldin, and Golden Tate all have experience both playing on the outside and at the slot position. When you add the abilities of Marvin Jones to the mix, Detroit will have no problem switching up the roles for different formations and filling in spots as needed during a …show more content…
This decision could be a sign that Eric Ebron is healthier than what Detroit has led on. Ebron will be a huge presence in the passing game for Detroit and head coach Jim Caldwell surely had this in mind when the team was making their final cuts.
Caldwell could also be planning to use Theo Riddick out of the slot this season. While most of them came out of the backfield, Riddick was able to catch 80 passes for the Lions in in 2015.
On paper, limiting themselves to four wide receivers may have looked like risky business for the Detroit Lions. However, with the personnel they had to choose from, the move could end up being another wise idea that establishes Bob Quinn as a premier general manager within the