The roster cutdown date is fast approaching, and the Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has a lot of difficult decisions to make. The Lions have a lot of depth and talent across the board, which makes things challenging for the coaching staff when it's time to finalize the 53-man roster. The next two weeks of training camp and preseason will clarify a lot of these position battles.
Certain positions, however, are still wide open. Cornerback is one of them.
Terrion Arnold's abrupt departure complicated things for the Lions, leading many to advocate for a replacement signing. The Lions haven't made a significant addition to the CB room since then. But the coaching staff still feels good about the position. Keith Abney already looking like an experienced veteran and Nick Whiteside emerging as a sure-fire 53-man roster player erased a lot of the doubts Lions fans had.
These developments also put Ennis Rakestraw on thin ice. To make things even more difficult for himself, he had a horrible performance against the Bengals in the first preseason game. He received the worst defensive grade on the team on Pro Football Focus, putting his future with the team in jeopardy.
The preseason performance came on the heels of an "up and down" training camp from Rakestraw, per Dan Campbell. He had said before the game that the former second-round pick had to "string together some good days."
Those days may finally be here. Rakestraw was reportedly the star of the show in the Lions' practice on Monday night, per team insider Nolan Bianchi. During the scrimmage, Rakestraw came out strong and made a ton of plays right away, including a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and an interception in the first six plays.
#Lions held a scrimmage tonight. Ennis Rakestraw Jr. was the star. On his first six plays:
— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) August 18, 2026
- monster hit on Saylors during 2-yard gain
- TFL on corner blitz
- in coverage on 3rd down incompletion
- tipped pass on corner blitz
- came up with INT after Christian Izien PBU
Ennis Rakestraw's scrimmage redemption complicates the Lions' CB competition
After the scrimmage, Rakestraw said that he finally felt like he was "knocking the rust off" after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury. The third-year player has barely played in his NFL tenure. Outside of the 46 defensive snaps he played as a rookie, the former Missouri standout hasn't had a chance to establish himself.
With two more preseason games left, Rakestraw may be hitting his stride at the right time. If he can carry this momentum to the actual games, he should still feel good about his chances of making the final roster.
This will put pressure on Whiteside, Roger McCreary, and Khalil Dorsey, who may be at risk of missing the cut.
There is also a chance that the Lions bring in seven cornerbacks to the final roster, which means that all of these names could make the cut. Saturday's preseason outing against the Commanders will be telling about where the CB competition is at the moment.
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