The Detroit Lions will close their preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. The Steelers plan to play starters in the game, rooted in having a quarterback competition to sort out still. It's fair to assume the Lions will do what they've done in the first two preseason games, and not play their starters.
If any Lions starters do play, they won't play a lot.
So people battling for roles and roster spots will have plenty of opportunity to shine against the Steelers. As head coach Dan Campbell hinted at this week, guys who won't make the Lions' roster will be showcased for possible opportunities elsewhere as every team makes their cuts to 53 players.
But the preseason finale also may be the final opportunity for some recent Lions' draft picks to stick. Being a "Brad Holmes pick" may be regarded as some inherent advantage by some. But that ultimately should not matter as who is worthy of a spot on the 53-man roster is evaluated.
These four recent Lions' draft picks might be playing their last game for the team in the preseason finale.
4 recent Lions draft picks who may be playing their last game for the team vs. Steelers
4. RB Jermar Jefferson, 7th Round (Pick No. 257), 2021
Jefferson offered some glimpses of his potential as a rookie. But then he spent all of the 2022 season on the practice squad, and an injury landed him on IR last season.
So it was out of nowhere when Jefferson was noted as as standout and someone not to discount in the battle for spots on the Lions' running back depth chart early in training camp. But an injury kept him out of the second preseason game against the Chiefs. Assuming he's able to suit up against the Steelers, he's on the wrong side of the roster bubble (if he's even really on the roster bubble at all now).
3. TE James Mitchell, 5th Round (Pick No. 177), 2022
Completing the recovery from a torn ACL in his final college season gave Mitchell a little bit of a mulligan for his rookie season. Then, Sam LaPorta's arrival last year blocked any remote idea of a second-year emergence. In fact, Mitchell played one more game last year than he did as a rookie but he played fewer offensive snaps with just two catches (compared to 11 catches as a rookie).
Mitchell enters the preseason finale firmly on the roster bubble, with his status possibly somewhat dependent on how many tight ends the Lions keep on the 53-man roster. The "Brad Holmes pick" may play into the equation too, if you want to believe that.
Let's get right down to it. If Mitchell is going to fully realize whatever potential he has, the path to doing it in Detroit is blocked. He may be among those showcased against the Steelers, with his best opportunity naturally being elsewhere one way or another.
2. LB Malcolm Rodriguez, 6th Round (Pick No. 188), 2022
Rodriguez showed himself as a Day 3 steal during his rookie season, starting 15 games with 87 total tackles and eight tackles for loss. Then the arrival of Jack Campbell last year naturally shifted his role toward primarily special teams, along with some stray snaps as a fullback.
"Rodrigo" has not played in either preseason game so far, and he has not been able to practice. His status for the preseason finale is unclear, but ideally he'll be able to suit up and lock in what has all along been a presumed spot on the 53-man roster. But as well as Ben Niemann has played this preseason, maybe we shouldn't have been assuming Rodriguez is a roster lock.
In some sense, like Mitchell, Rodriguez would benefit from a change of scenery in terms of sheer opportunity to play or start. He could be a surprise cut (as hinted by Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports), or a trade candidate as the start of the season approaches.
Regardless, it's quite possible Rodriguez will play his last as a Lion on Saturday. Or if he's physically unable to, maybe he already has played his last game as a Lion.
1. EDGE James Houston, 6th Round (pick No. 217), 2022
Sometimes, the tea leaves are there if you're just willing to read them.
Houston's development into something more than a pass rusher, with his potential in that area shown by eight sacks over the final seven games of his rookie season, got an injury-forced mulligan last year. A fractured ankle suffered in Week 2 sidelined him until the NFC Championship Game. No one's fault there.
So the idea of making Houston into a SAM linebacker, so he could be more versatile and on the field more, carried into this year. After a rough performance in the preseason opener against the New York Giants, however impacted by a knee injury he suffered in the game, the plan to make him into more than an edge rusher was ended (though maybe not permanently, to be fair).
So the second preseason game, against the Kansas City Chiefs, was lined up to be pretty important for Houston. But he did not play, with the knee injury as the easiest explanation why.
Still, it just lands weird that Houston didn't play against the Chiefs, And it's hard to believe it was because he's so locked into a roster spot. That's not how Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes operate, and, leaving the injury aside, Houston having duties taken off his plate feels meaningful.
The one thing Houston has shown he can do (get after the quarterback) has value around the league. If nothing else then, he is a potential trade asset set to be showcased heavily against the Steelers. There's a chance he ends up cut no matter what, but if he's going to be done as a Lion it's good business to display him for possible trade suitors. Assuming he's healthy enough to play, and ideally play a lot, of course.
