Veterans with job security issues!

[jdwills126]

53 man roster was pretty set before the draft and now I wonder what vets will be looking for new homes shortly.

The easy one IMO is Lehoure. With Bell, Bush, Riddick, and Jed Collins as FB I think LeShoure is expendable. Tough to keep a guy when a rookie on the practice squad can provide as much insurance as LeShoure.

Wide Receiver will be a very interesting battle. Durham, Ross, Ogletree, and Fuller are all battling for maybe two spots. Fuller still can be sent to the practice squad. TJ Jones probably would not clear waivers and if Broyles is healthy sooner than later it may be one spot open. TJ Jones returns punts so Ross is on very shaky ground as of today.

DT is a bit of a log jam as well. I can't see Fluellen making the roster. Jones gives the Lions depth at DT and DE so he is a given IMO. Reid will press Saddler McQueen to the waiver wire. Taylor, Ansah, and 1-2 more defensive ends will make the club but I am guessing it will be 3 full time DEs and Jones as a twiner to free up a spot elsewhere.

CB will be a real battle. Greenwood, Green, and Lawson will find a roster spot hard to come by. I don't think Lawson clears waivers but could be wrong. Houston, Slay, Bentley, and Mathias seem like locks.

I see LeShoure, Durham, Ross, and Greenwood on the outside looking in in the to early to tell veteran cut watch.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I understand wanting to keep TJ Jones but cutting Ross for him would be moronic. Ross has already proven to be a very studly returner and replacing him with an unproven rookie would be foolish. Ross is only in his 3rd year too. It's not like he's old or anything. To be honest, I would rather keep him over Broyles as well. No telling if Broyles will ever be as explosive as he was in college.

 

[gandydancer]

Chad Abram could push Collins at FB. Big knock is truly one year at the position and Collins may get the nod knowing more of Lombardi's scheme.

I hate that the old coaches did not use Leshoure. Hard to judge some of the players listed with lack of passing the eye test. This also hampersthe CB battle for us as fans.

Don't be surprised to see Maxwell push fan favorite Fauria for a roster spot.

 

[gandydancer]

I understand wanting to keep TJ Jones but cutting Ross for him would be moronic. Ross has already proven to be a very studly returner and replacing him with an unproven rookie would be foolish. Ross is only in his 3rd year too. It's not like he's old or anything. To be honest, I would rather keep him over Broyles as well. No telling if Broyles will ever be as explosive as he was in college.

While agree with the most of the post. It is starting to get harder to justify roster spots. Which is good. The days of wanting Wendling just for ST and give nothing to the defense are done IMO. Ross shows he can play the 4th or 5th spot great. Jones shows he is better of those spots than I would rather see him than Ross.

Not big on Palmer, when I stated that I would love to see him gone. I beieve it was Oldlion?? said he is great ST and backup to all 3 LB spots. So I will take depth of 3 spots and ST over just ST guy.

Loathe Durham, but if this staff feels he is the 4th or 5th guy and helps them to win. I will live with it.

When it comes down to player 51 52 and 53 it will be harder to justify just a return guy IMO. Devin Hester days are being outsourced these days also...

 

[Old Lion]

I have to say I am not sold on Ross either. He had 1 great game against Philly in the snow, but was he really special outside of that? I am not so sure. Ogilvy looked better at WR. Still I think I might keep Ross and get rid of Durham. I am not sure why the guy cant seem to catch balls from the same QB he played with in College. He is in a do or die this year. Because of his size I would like to keep him if he improves.


I hope I am dead wrong about Chris Greenwood. Something just does not feel right to me with him when I see him play. Maybe he just cant figure it out. He had 1 good play when he actually got in a game ofr us. He was not terrible, but nothing special either. He is in the same boat as Durham.

 

[jdwills126]

Ross is in a fight and the fact he can return kickoffs s definitely in his favor.


If Broyles returns to form and looks good then TJ Jones may have problems holding onto the possession slot receiver spot. I can't see Jones slipping through waivers but it's possible plus I see the Lions using injured reserve to hide a guy like they did with Williams last year.

I would hate to see the Lions give up on Fauria but I definitely see the TE position as competitive. I only see three TEs on the roster if they use a FB and every things indicates they will.

 

[themuzzer]

I can't see Fauria losing his spot, I think it will have to be a WR that has to go....I'm actually looking forward to Ebron and Fauria sets. It's a little refreshing to be able to cut bait with some of these under achiveing WRs instead of relying on them.

The secondary is still a mess but with the Offense pretty much set, That's all we can look forward to upgrading next year, it still needs a lot of work and has been largely ignored for far too long.

 

[themuzzer]

Lions should be in lots of shoot outs this year, makes for excitement but also frustration when opposing teams are scoring at the same clip the Lions will be.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I understand wanting to keep TJ Jones but cutting Ross for him would be moronic. Ross has already proven to be a very studly returner and replacing him with an unproven rookie would be foolish. Ross is only in his 3rd year too. It's not like he's old or anything. To be honest, I would rather keep him over Broyles as well. No telling if Broyles will ever be as explosive as he was in college.

This.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I can't see Fauria losing his spot, I think it will have to be a WR that has to go....I'm actually looking forward to Ebron and Fauria sets. It's a little refreshing to be able to cut bait with some of these under achiveing WRs instead of relying on them.

The secondary is still a mess but with the Offense pretty much set, That's all we can look forward to upgrading next year, it still needs a lot of work and has been largely ignored for far too long.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

TJ Jones returns punts so Ross is on very shaky ground as of today.

I think Ross is pretty safe, unless Detroit plans on using Golden Tate to return kicks. Ross returned 30 kicks for Detroit last year (15 kickoffs and 15 punts) -- He had 6 returns over 40+ yards and 2 touchdowns.

I don't think he is going anywhere. He was one of the bright spots on the Lions last season, why would you cut him without giving him a chance to prove his worth again?

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Ross has one good game in four inches of snow and that secures him a roster spot when it appears he will likely offer very little to the offense? Not sure I think that will be the case. If he isn't very effective in camp and the preseason games I think he is gone.

I expect the Lions to pick up a veteran DT that gets released and clears waivers so he can come in on the cheap with a one year deal and the MSB cap benefit. In fact, I expect a couple of those. That means Fluellen goes. He goes twice a year ever year anyway after being cut and resigned, cut and resigned.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Ross has one good game in four inches of snow and that secures him a roster spot when it appears he will likely offer very little to the offense?

How much of a chance did he have to show what he could do for the offense? He was picked up midseason, so he didn't have the luxury of the other WR's learning the playbook or working with Stafford and the other WR's.

Our return game has been terrible, not only last year, but quite a while. Ross had only returned kicks for the last month and a half of the season for Detroit and in 30 chances -- he had 6 returns of 40+ yards, he also had another 35 yard punt return -- 2 of them for touchdowns. Seems like he'd be a no brainer for the front office to keep.

 

[gandydancer]

How much of a chance did he have to show what he could do for the offense? He was picked up midseason, so he didn't have the luxury of the other WR's learning the playbook or working with Stafford and the other WR's.

Our return game has been terrible, not only last year, but quite a while. Ross had only returned kicks for the last month and a half of the season for Detroit and in 30 chances -- he had 6 returns of 40+ yards, he also had another 35 yard punt return -- 2 of them for touchdowns. Seems like he'd be a no brainer for the front office to keep.

I had the same thought process with Leshoure after 2012 season, how did that workout for short yardage plays last season?

 

[jdwills126]

How much of a chance did he have to show what he could do for the offense? He was picked up midseason, so he didn't have the luxury of the other WR's learning the playbook or working with Stafford and the other WR's.

Our return game has been terrible, not only last year, but quite a while. Ross had only returned kicks for the last month and a half of the season for Detroit and in 30 chances -- he had 6 returns of 40+ yards, he also had another 35 yard punt return -- 2 of them for touchdowns. Seems like he'd be a no brainer for the front office to keep.

Ogletree was a pickup as well and got some good minutes. The thing is Detroit had a huge vacuum after CJ in the receiving department. If Ross showed he had skills or has potential he would have been squeezed into the mix. Detroit didn't have a #2 last year.

So what we know is Durham, Ogletree, and Burleson (when activated) were in front of Ross. Not a very strong resume bullet point. I think Ross has some potential and if Detroit can't find a kick returner he has that much better of a shot. But to think he isn't on the outside looking in is giving him more of a chance than I think is warranted. Especially if you give an extra roster spot to a TE.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I have to say I am not sold on Ross either. He had 1 great game against Philly in the snow, but was he really special outside of that?

He had a couple more nice returns the next game as well. You can see he is very explosive. Not sure why he isn't given more of a chance to run some routes and catch passes.

 

[jdwills126]

QB - Stafford, Orvlosky, XXXX = 3 (Moore or Franklin)

RB - Bell, Bush, Riddick, FB = 4 ( LeShoure =5 RBs )

OL - Reif, Sims, Waddle, Raiola, Warford, Swanson, 3 bench spots = 9 (Hillard, Austin, Shugarts or 2 spots and save the spot for LeShoure?)

TE - Ebron, Pettigrew, Fauria/other = 3 ( Williams or FA )

WR - CJ, Tate, and 4 Bench spots = 6 ( Ross, Ogletree, Jones, Broyles, Durham, Fuller )

Offense and 3 special team slots, K, LS, and Punter = 28

DL - Suh, Fairley, Mosley, Reid, 1 bench spot = 5 ( Saddler-McQueen, Fluellen, or use the spot elsewhere and make Jones the swing)

DE - Ansah, Jones, Taylor, 1 bench spot = 4 (Tapp, Webster, Brown, other)

LB - Tulloch, Levy, Van Noy, Palmer, and 2 bench spots = 6 (Whitehead, Lewis, Greenwood, other)

Safety - Ihedigbo, Quinn, Carey, 1 bench spot = 4 (Gomes, Abdul-Quddas)

CB - Houston, Mathias, Slay, Green, Bentley, 1 bench spot = 6 (Lawson, Greenwood)

Defense 25

My way to early look at the roster the Lions have some play but the deck is pretty much set. Do you short WR to add a TE? Or short OL to add a RB. Swanson can play both center and guard but may not be ready to do either. DBs are fighting it out especially if Detroit wants to keep 5 safeties on the roster.

 

[gandydancer]

I can see 4 TE and 5 WR. Williams shows he can block and ability to use Ebron and possibly Fauria in slot on certain sets. With this said why I earlier posted why Ross being able to contribute as the 5th WR is vital for him.

I can also see them rolling with Palmer and Whitehead as only extra LB's and making room for extra DB spot. Unless they sign somebody else. Don't see another LB of keeping there.

 

[Kreton]

RB - Bell, Bush, Riddick, FB = 4 ( LeShoure =5 RBs )

OL - Reif, Sims, Waddle, Raiola, Warford, Swanson, 3 bench spots = 9 (Hillard, Austin, Shugarts or 2 spots and save the spot for LeShoure?)

TE - Ebron, Pettigrew, Fauria/other = 3 ( Williams or FA )

WR - CJ, Tate, and 4 Bench spots = 6 ( Ross, Ogletree, Jones, Broyles, Durham, Fuller )

I think the Lions will have 4 TEs on the Roster with Ebron being a TE/WR in use.

I also think that we stay with the 4 RB mold and think you have it right.

OL i think 9 makes sense.

WR I think with Ebron being used as a WR a lot, I think we carry 5. My preference here would be CJ, Tate, Ross, Broyles, Jones. I can see Stafford begging and possibly keeping Durham on the team.

 

[gandydancer]

I think the Lions will have 4 TEs on the Roster with Ebron being a TE/WR in use.

I also think that we stay with the 4 RB mold and think you have it right.

OL i think 9 makes sense.

WR I think with Ebron being used as a WR a lot, I think we carry 5. My preference here would be CJ, Tate, Ross, Broyles, Jones. I can see Stafford begging and possibly keeping Durham on the team.

You had me all the way up til Dur....

I can aslo see them possibly rolling with 2 QB's and maybe that Mizzou kid on PS.