The Detroit Lions host the Washington Commanders in their second preseason game on Saturday. Head coach Dan Campbell already said that a lot more of the starters will play, but he didn't specify who and for how long. However, we know for sure that Jared Goff isn't going to take a snap until the regular season.
Considering that the Lions have to make a decision about their backup quarterback situation, this makes sense. Luke Altmyer and Joshua Dobbs have been battling it out for the QB2 spot, and the last two preseason games will go a long way in helping Campbell make the final decision.
What's the Lions' preseason plan at quarterback?
On Thursday, Campbell provided his current thoughts and the team's plan about the QB situation. He revealed that Dobbs will get the start on Saturday, but he will split the snaps equally with Altmyer, per ESPN's Eric Woodyard.
This is a change from the preseason outing against the Bengals. Altmyer played the majority of the snaps in the preseason opener, while Dobbs only played for a quarter. The undrafted free agent showed intriguing flashes in his first game as a Lion, even though his final stat line wasn't anything to write home about.
The Lions must have been happy with Altmyer's performance since he has been taking most of the QB2 reps all week. On Wednesday, Dobbs barely took any snaps. He briefly came in for a drive during seven-on-sevens before Altmyer took back over.
Considering how recently Dobbs joined the team and how he still needs to build chemistry with his teammates and learn the playbook, it's certainly strange that the team isn't giving him more of a look in practices. So far, the coaching staff hasn't expressed a reason why the veteran signal-caller has been such an afterthought in training camp.
However, the Lions still clearly want to get a look at Dobbs before making a roster decision. The fact that he is starting against Washington suggests that a decision has not been made. In fact, Campbell said in his remarks that the competition is "still open."
There are two preseason games and only a couple of practices left before the roster cutdown date. Altmyer has done a lot to help himself all summer, but he still has work to do. How his and Dobbs' snaps go on Saturday will likely be a big deciding factor.
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