The Detroit Lions are beginning OTAs officially on May 28, which means we're already at about the halfway mark of the NFL's offseason. It feels like just yesterday the Super Bowl was about to air, the Lions had just been heartbreakingly eliminated from the postseason, and we were just anticipating a long run from Detroit prior to being nixed by the Washington Commanders.
It's great that we're getting to the point in the offseason where we get to see who is going to impress in camp and which rookie will truly stand out amongst all other neophytes, but that means we're also at a point where we may begin to see some cuts taking place in the process.
One of those cuts threatens could be Ronnie Bell. The former 7th round pick by the San Francisco 49ers is suddenly being met by a ton of competition in the wide receiver room, namely by rookies Isaac TeSlaa and Dominic Lovett. Bell, a former star at Michigan, may soon be on the chopping block as he would both save the Lions money as a post-June 1 cut and as he may need to do the unthinkable to stay on the teams' roster.
Bell seems like the odd man out headed into OTAs
Bell finished up his career in Michigan back in 2023 with 889 receiving yards, four touchdowns, and 63.5 yards per game. He played two seasons with the 49ers, where he only played in 26 total games. In those two years, he picked up just 90 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Bell landed with the Lions as a free agent this offseason, hoping to of course land on the teams' roster by the end of training camp. However, wide receiver has to be the most competitive position outside of running back for the Lions right now. They're stacked with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and they have a great third option in tight end Sam LaPorta, too.
Detroit also took two wide receivers in this draft, Isaac TeSlaa (who they've already signed to a deal) and Dominic Lovett (who also signed a rookie scale contract). Lovett could end up being a special teams receiver, but TeSlaa has gotten some pointed praise by the Lions' front office to the point where it sure sounds like he's a shoo-in to be a semi-regular in their offense.
Bell has the experience over both of these rookies, but he'd need to seriously impress and go above and beyond what's expected of him to last on the roster.
