Allen Park — The Detroit Lions' rise from disappointment to powerhouse shows itself in many ways.
Right now, it's showing itself in the difficulty of trimming the roster down to 53 players.
"It's changed significantly," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. "I mean, shoot, '21, we were wide open, literally wide open. You had an idea that (then-rookie Penei) Sewell was going to make it; we drafted him seven overall. You have an idea on some of these guys, but there was a whole roster full of, 'We have no idea.'
"We don't know who is going to the next receiver; we don't know linebacker positions, the D-line — it was wide open."
This year, it's only been "wide open" at a few positions on the back end of the roster. Nearly the entire starting offense was set before training camp even began, with one measly receiver spot up for grabs. The starting defense, too, has little room for surprise additions. Campbell said earlier this week that there are just "five or six" roster spots available entering Saturday's preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field (1 p.m.).
The Lions' 14-year streak of an undrafted free agent making the roster seems to be in jeopardy, though there are a few players, such as edge rusher Isaac Ukwu, offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun, and wide receiver Isaiah Williams, who could potentially sneak their way in.
And even those decisions seem to have consequences. In years past, it was less difficult to sneak a guy onto the practice squad if he didn't make the roster — after all, if a player made it on those Lions teams, how could he be expected to catch on elsewhere? But now it seems fairly probable that a handful of players who miss the cut in Detroit will have interest from outside suitors. Safety Starling Thomas, who missed the cut in Detroit last camp, signed with the Arizona Cardinals and made 12 appearances.
It's something Lions general manager Brad Holmes will have to consider when deciding who will stay and who will go.
"I lean on Brad for that. That is 100%, I just go to him, I say, 'What do you think?' and 'Old wise one, you let me know, because I have no idea,'" Campbell said. "And he has not missed yet. When he's told me something, and going on four years, he hasn't missed. I have a lot of trust in what Brad says."
In years past, the NFL staggered their cut-down days, forcing teams to go from 90 to 85 players after the first preseason game, 85 to 80 after the second preseason game, and from 80 to 53 in the days following the preseason finale. A recent NFL rule change has teams going from 90 to 53 after the final game of preseason. While there's a luxury in letting a player see his camp through to the end, Campbell said it also makes the process a bit more difficult for the brass.
"It does put more stress on those guys upstairs," Campbell said. "Just the personnel department making sure that ... you can keep up with the number of guys that are possibly out there."
Still, in this business, hard decisions are typically a sign that you're doing something right.
"Here we are, and you feel like you've tied down most of these spots and we're going to have to let go of some good players, ultimately, I think that can play in this league ... and that's a hard thing to do," Campbell said.
"But it also shows where our roster is at to this point, it's grown a ton. Brad has done a hell of a job."
