The Detroit Lions only technically had 52 players on their initial 53-man roster, and after a bit of maneuvering that remained the case. The team's roster moves heading into the season opener gave them 53 players on the active roster for the week.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell openly considers the practice squad an extension of the active roster, and an important part of the team. The 53-man roster is a living entity for every team, changed by injuries and whatnot over the course of a season, but that may be the case in Detroit more than most places. And the Lions have some players on their practice squad who could stick on a 53-man roster somewhere this season at some point, if not theirs.
There will be back end of the roster guys for the Lions who will have to keep earning their spot, each and every week, lest they be replaced. And truly, Week 1 will not be a first game of the season mulligan if it's deemed necessary to make a change after.
So these three Lions players are hardly guaranteed to last the season on the 53-man roster after making it initially, before the first game of the season even happens.
3 Detroit Lions players who won't survive the season on the 53-man roster
3. DB Loren Strickland
Strickland became a great story during camp and the preseason, coming in as a UDFA and earning a spot on the 53-man roster. But he will miss Week 1 with a thumb injury, and overall his injury outlook is unclear right now. He already feels lined up to be a regular inactive on game days, if only due to numbers needed at other positions. An injury that sidelines him for any time will hurt his chances to stay on the roster.
It could go so far as him being waived with an injury settlement if his thumb is that bad, or it could just be a roster maneuver eventually made to otherwise permanently modify the composition of the active roster. But Strickland may not be very long for the spot he won in the summer.
2. OL Michael Niese
Niese is another Lions' player who made a surprising run to win a roster spot this summer. He first landed on their practice squad after being let go by the Buccaneers at final cuts last year, and he was on the game day roster for one game last season.
The Lions' offensive line depth feels ripe for an experienced addition if any possibilities surface, not that even will at this point. Beyond that though, a lot of internal maneuvering would be done to cover any injuries that occur before Niese ever saw the field at guard or center.
If we were ranking the Lions' roster right now, 1-53, Niese would be.... No. 51? No. 52? So he's ripe to lose his spot, through absolutely no fault of his own, at some point.
1. James Houston
A sack in the preseason finale was enough for Houston to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, over a couple other edge rushers (Isaac Ukwu, Mitchell Agude) who were more worthy based on their overall preseason performance. A knee injury in the preseason opener that led to him missing the second preseason contest has to be noted, but Houston did not win a roster spot as much as get by the default of creating a "hard decision" with what he did in the preseason finale.
Taking SAM linebacker duties off of Mathieu Betts' plate was enough to push him well off serious consideration for the Lions' 53-man roster, but doing the same with Houston did not do so for him. Take away the names, and any perception of Houston's "body of work" after missing most of last season with an ankle injury, and there's no difference.
During the offseason, Lions coaches pointed to wanting guys who can do more than one thing. That standard isn't applied to Houston right now, unless he's going to cover kicks on special teams.
Ukwu and Agude are lurking on the practice squad, ready to take Houston's roster spot if he slips up with his details, suffers an injury or simply underachieves. The easy bet here is one of them takes it from him, perhaps pretty early in the season.
