Putting together a 53-man roster is always a challenge, and it may be especially true for the Detroit Lions. The Lions with a 15-2 record last season, but their dreams of a Super Bowl turned into a nightmare when a slew of injuries challenged their depth. The injuries led to an upset by the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs, and the Lions are trying to acquire the depth to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
With this in mind, the Lions don’t want to get rid of a promising player in case they can be used in case of emergency. But time may have run out on a Detroit draft pick that has failed to make an impact in Detroit.
Lions DL Mekhi Wingo Could Lose His Job to Training Camp Standout
Brodric Martin has been in the crosshairs of Lions fans this preseason, but fellow defensive line bust Mekhi Wingo could be joining him in a search for a new team. A sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft, Wingo showed some promise by generating five pressures on 108 pass-rushing snaps but his momentum came to a halt when he suffered a torn meniscus last November.
The performance in his rookie year allowed him to claim a roster spot, but getting healthy has been a challenge. Wingo missed all of the offseason program recovering from the injury and the Lions made the path to the active roster tougher when they selected Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams in the first round, re-signed Levi Onwuzurike and added Roy Lopez in free agency.
Despite this, things have been looking up in recent weeks. Onwuzurike’s season came to an end when he suffered a torn ACL during the opening week of training camp, and fellow defensive lineman Josh Paschal has been ruled out into October due to an undisclosed injury. With Wingo’s activation from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUPO) list this week, there figures to be an opening on the roster, but that could come down to the development of Keith Cooper.
An undrafted free agent from Houston, Cooper was getting first-team reps during the Lions’ dominant joint practice against the Miami Dolphins. While Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire believed he was “a lock” at that point, he’s raised questions about his candidacy moving forward as both he and Wingo play the same position. This would seem to give the nod to Cooper, but The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy noted that Cooper was still with the starters and key reserves during Monday’s warmups at practice, which “usually bodes well for players trying to make a name for themselves.”
In the end, it might come down to Campbell’s decision, who still seemed shell-shocked by how the way last season ended.
“Call it what you want, when you have a year like we did last year, you get affected by it a little bit by it,” Campbell said via Rainer Sabin of the Detroit Free Press. “It has an effect on what you think. Depth, depth, depth — we have to make sure we have the depth.”
With injuries running rampant during this year’s camp, Campbell would probably like to take most of his 90-man roster into the season. But it also calls for some difficult decisions, which is why Wingo could wind up being a surprising addition to the chopping block.