The Detroit Lions will have their second preseason game on Saturday afternoon against the Kansas City Chiefs. As expected, head coach Dan Campbell has said starters basically won't play and the few who do will be on the defensive side. Injuries around the roster have an impact there too.
On the other side, the Chiefs plan to play their starters the entire first half on Saturday. So the Lions players who will be playing will get a solid test going against the best the Chiefs are willing to offer. In line with that, it's also a great opportunity for those who are battling for a roster spot.
It's natural to tilt a little negative ("who has the most to lose?") when highlighting players who have particular spotlight on them going into a preseason game. Not simply players to watch, but players who could lose a roster spot or drop down the depth chart with a bad performance. In this case, the second preseason game is big for a lot of Lions' players battling for what probably amounts to about 10 spots on the 53 roster.
The list could very well extend longer, but let's hone in on five Lions players who have the most at stake on Saturday against the Chiefs.
5 Lions players with the most at stake in Week 2 of the preseason vs. Chiefs
5. CB Kindle Vildor
By necessity, Vildor was a starting corner for the Lions last last season. An unfortunate play against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game will probably stand as the most memorable thing from his tenure on the team. In another sense, he has been easy to push off the roster. But he's had a good training camp, and bigger opportunity has knocked.
Injuries at cornerback (Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold) gave Vildor a chance to work as a first-teamer this week, and by all accounts from reporters at Allen Park he looked really good.
Vildor will probably start Saturday's game, and play plenty against the Chiefs' top receivers (minus the injured Marquise Brown). In a competition most prominently with Khalil Dorsey and Steven Gilmore, he can all but complete a firm separation of himself with a good game Saturday.
Before Monday night's practice this week, and again during a radio appearance on Wednesday morning, Dan Campbell pleaded for someone to step up in the competition to fill out the wide receiver depth chart. He's basically calling on someone to perform in the game against the Chiefs, or changes may be made.
Let's focus on the two most prominent names in that competition.
4. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
All offseason, Peoples-Jones was the clear perceived favorite to fill the role vacated by Josh Reynolds. Many Lions' fans leaned on that crutch too, most prominently to dismiss any idea of a wide receiver addition.
After calling out Peoples-Jones at one point, Campbell did say the former Brown and Detroit native has been better lately. He is the most proven of the group battling for what'll likely be one or two roster spots, but for much of camp he has looked more like a likely big-name cut.
Peoples-Jones is absolutely on the roster bubble. We'll see who, if anyone, answers Campbell's call to step up. But "DP-J" better do so, or the Lions may not waste much more time with him.
3. Daurice Fountain
Fountain had great momentum toward earning a roster spot, if not a prominent role, early in camp. But that has faded starting with the joint practices against the Giants, into the preseason opener and now through the practices since.
Fountain can re-establish himself in the Lions' wide receiver competition with a nice outing against the Chiefs. If he wants to make the 53-man roster, he needs to stand out for the right reasons on Saturday (the quarterbacking may not do him any favors; more on that later).
2. EDGE James Houston
The Lions have, at least for now, given up on trying to make Houston into a SAM linebacker. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn put it simply this week.
"Listen, the one thing we know he has a talent at is rushing the quarterback and when you have a good player you try to figure out, ‘What else can they do?’ Because you want them on the field as much as possible...So we tried him at different positions to see if he can bring value in those aspects, but sometimes you’ve got to sit back and go, ‘You know what, just do what you do best."
Houston is also dealing with a knee injury he suffered in the preseason opener, which seems sure to have been a factor in his poor performance against the Giants. The injury opens the door to him not playing, or not playing a lot, on Saturday. But he has to play, and play well in his compressed duties, or he'll maintain his spot on the wrong side of the roster bubble.
1. QB Nate Sudfeld
Sudfeld truly played himself off the Lions' roster in the preseason opener. But with Hendon Hooker's status for Saturday's game unclear due to the concussion he suffered against the Giants, and Jake Fromm having had two practices since being signed, Sudfeld may get a lot of playing time again. Regardless of Hooker's status, he may play a lot.
Sudfeld padded his still-awful stats against the Giants by working the fourth quarter against guys who won't make their roster. Saturday should bring some first half run against Chiefs' starting defenders, which could get ugly.
Sudfeld is who we thought he was as a quarterback with 37 career regular season pass attempts. This may be his last hoorah in trying to make an NFL roster, even as a emergency/No. 3 guy. More bad tape against Kansas City won't convince another team to give him a shot if/when the Lions part ways.
Career advice is not my prominent lane, but Sudfeld might want to start polishing up his resume to do whatever he's going to do after football if he stinks against the Chiefs. Truly, it'd be surprising if he doesn't stink if he goes against a good starting defense like Kansas City's.
