2025 Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection: Post-Falcons preseason game edition

The Detroit Lions have two preseason games in the books, after previously facing off against the Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons, and that means it’s time for another installment of our 53-man roster projection.

As has become tradition, Jeremy Reisman and I collaborate on this projection in an attempt to give you a balanced look at where the roster sits coming out of the summer break. We come together to debate the roster, fight for our favorites, and compromise when possible. We will publish updated collaborative editions of the 53-man projection throughout training camp. Then, at cutdowns, we will each publish our own projections.

Let’s get started.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes the player is a rookie

Quarterbacks (2)

Jared Goff
Kyle Allen
Hendon Hooker

Erik: Kyle Allen’s perfect QB rating in the Lions’ win over the Falcons helped vault him ahead of Hooker in the QB2 battle, but with two preseason games remaining, there’s still plenty of time for this competition to flip again. Hooker’s arguably the more talented of the two quarterbacks, but he’s struggling to settle down his nerves, and will need to stop turning the ball over if he hopes to have a chance to win the job.

Running back (4)

Jahmyr Gibbs
David Montgomery
Craig Reynolds
Sione Vaki
Jacob Saylors
Deon Jackson

Jeremy: Based on how I saw Vaki moving with trainers at Monday’s practice, there should be no long-term concern here. There is always a shot Detroit saves a roster spot by dropping to three players here by trying to slide Reynolds onto the practice squad, but I think he’s too valuable on special teams to risk it.

Wide receiver (6)

Amon-Ra St. Brown
Jameson Williams
Tim Patrick
Kalif Raymond
Isaac TeSlaa*
Dominic Lovett*
Jackson Meeks*
Tom Kennedy
Jakobie Keeney-James*
Ronnie Bell
Malik Taylor

Erik: At this stage of the process, we haven’t quite given up on Lovett’s upside on offense and special teams. However, with every day that Lovett is unable to practice due to injury, he leaves the door open for Meeks to seize control of the WR6 battle. Against the Falcons, Meeks not only caught three passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, but he also had a 91.3 run blocking grade from PFF. Everyone else is just chasing the rookies, for now.

Tight end (3)

Sam LaPorta
Brock Wright
Shane Zylstra
Zach Horton*
Steven Stilianos
Gunnar Oakes

Jeremy: This is another position the Lions could shortchange and slip Zylstra on the practice squad, but keeping two tight ends on the roster seems like poor management. Unfortunately, with Zach Horton being placed on IR this week, it has become a two-man race for the TE3 job between Zylstra and Horton. While I really like what I’ve seen from Horton as a blocker, Zylstra is the most well-rounded player and is also great on special teams.

Offensive tackle (4)

Penei Sewell
Taylor Decker
Dan Skipper
Giovanni Manu
Jamarco Jones
Mason Miller*
Gunner Britton

Erik: Nothing has changed at offensive tackle, despite the position group working its way through injuries over the past week. Manu continues to develop and is slated for the OT4 role. While Skipper’s ankle injury didn’t impact his status because his biggest competition was also injured; Jones was dealing with his own ankle injury, while Justin Herron landed on injured reserve.

Interior offensive line (5 + 1 PUP)

Graham Glasgow
Christian Mahogany
Tate Ratledge*
Kayode Awosika
Kingsley Eguakun
Trystan Colon
Netane Muti
Michael Niese
Keaton Sutherland

Active/PUP: Miles Frazier*

Jeremy: Again, injury has made some of these decisions unfortunately easier. Trystan Colon was my pick in Bubble Watch this week, but with the news that his knee injury will hold him out for “a while,” per Dan Campbell, Kingsley Eguakun is now the front-runner to win the backup center job.

By the way, Frazier is looking like he’s closer to returning to practice, so is he is taken off the PUP, the Lions will have to find another roster spot to keep him aboard. For now, though, the easier decision would be to keep him on the injury list and forfeit his first four games of the season.

Defensive end (5)

Aidan Hutchinson
Marcus Davenport
Josh Paschal (Active/NFI)
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Ahmed Hassanein*
Nate Lynn
Mitchell Agude
Isaac Ukwu

Erik: Paschal is currently being projected to come off PUP right before the season, but if he can’t maintain that progress in his rehabilitation, Lynn is waiting in the wings for a spot on the roster. Lynn is having a terrific preseason and has arguably done enough to justify a spot on the 53-man roster as a situational pass rusher. And while it’s tough to find a spot for him right now, if he continues to produce like he has (seven pressures and a sack on just 29 pass rushing snaps through two games), we’ll need to find room.

Defensive tackle (5 + 2 PUP)

DJ Reader
Tyleik Williams*
Roy Lopez
Pat O’Connor
Chris Smith
Keith Cooper*
Myles Adams
Brodric Martin

Active/PUP: Alim McNeill, Mekhi Wingo

Jeremy: This was the biggest disagreement between Erik and I, and the conversation starts with Mekhi Wingo. Will he be activated off the PUP before the season starts? When we last heard from Campbell—three weeks ago—he projected Wingo’s return for September. But will he be ready to play or practice by September? That could be the difference between activating him or keeping him on PUP for the first four weeks.

Even if we decide to keep him on PUP, the choice for who takes his roster spot is not easy. Keith Cooper has been making a strong case all camp, although he was quiet in last week’s preseason game. I ended up going with Chris Smith here, because he has all sorts of versatility along the interior, has a year under this defense, and has started to string together a few strong practices. That said, Cooper is on the verge of jumping him, in my opinion.

Linebacker (6 + 1 PUP)

Alex Anzalone
Jack Campbell
Derrick Barnes
Grant Stuard
Trevor Nowaske
Zach Cunningham
Anthony Pittman
Ezekiel Turner
DaRon Gilbert

Active/PUP: Malcolm Rodriguez

Erik: Through two games, the top six have solidified themselves from the rest of the pack. Stuard looks like the dynamic special teamer we were expecting to see, Cunningham has been stout and reliable against the run, and Nowaske has not only solidified himself as the only backup SAM on the roster, but is now also being cross-trained at the MIKE. Pittman’s special teams will always give him a shot at the roster, but the fact that he only had two defensive snaps before the Falcons game was suspended in the fourth quarter is a clear indicator that he’s behind on defense.

Cornerback (6)

Terrion Arnold
D.J. Reed
Amik Robertson
Rock Ya-Sin
Khalil Dorsey (Active/PUP)
Nick Whiteside
Erick Hallett
Dicaprio Bootle
Tyson Russell
D.J. Miller
Luq Barcoo

Jeremy: There is seemingly a new roster spot open with Ennis Rakestraw now lost for the season. Unfortunately for Detroit, there is no clear replacement for him on the roster. Among their depth is five cornerbacks they’ve added in the last month and a safety who has moved to cornerback in the middle of camp (Hallett).

It’s regularly been Bootle and Dicaprio who have repped with the first and second teams, but we ended up going with Whiteside after a strong week of practice led to a really, really good preseason game. Campbell offered some high praise for Ironsides Whiteside, as well.

“I like Whiteside, man. Just the fact that he comes in, he competes, he’s a pro, he jumps into every drill, even if he’s not supposed to be in there. He wants it,” Campbell said. “He’s a sponge and he likes to compete. Are there things he’s got to get better at? Yeah, of course he does, but he just got here, too. There’s something to work with here.”

Safety (4)

Brian Branch
Kerby Joseph
Avonte Maddox
Loren Strickland
Morice Norris
Ian Kennelly*

Erik: The battle for the fourth safety position has been run through the ringer. Not only has Dan Jackson been placed on injured reserve, but Norris is going to miss at least two weeks (and maybe more) as the Lions take it slow with his concussion rehabilitation. Strickland has the early lead over Kennelly, due to experience and production, but this is a true battle. With the talent level of competition here, there’s an outside shot—depending on his the cornerback room is constructed—that we could see both Strickland and Kennelly make the roster.

Specialists (3)

Jack Fox (P)
Jake Bates (K)
Hogan Hatten (LS)

Jeremy: Running unopposed is nice.

At a glance, here’s a look at our current 53-man roster projection: