Football is back. After a long wait, the Detroit Lions take the stage on Sunday with the hopes of a bounce-back season. Motivated by last season's disappointment, fueled by one of the most favorable schedules in the league, and armed with one of the most talented rosters, the Lions have deep postseason aspirations. Their season opener against the New Orleans Saints will be an excellent opportunity for them to send a message to the rest of the league.
Things may be looking generally rosy for the Lions, but there are still unanswered questions ahead of Week 1. Dealing with a couple of injuries to key players like Cade Mays, Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, and Isiah Pacheco, the Lions aren't as deep as they hoped they would be in several positions.
What will the Lions do with the two open roster spots?
Interestingly enough, the Lions didn't take advantage of the waiver wire or free agency after the roster cutdown. Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell believe in the depth and talent of this team, but Lions fans hope that certain decisions don't come back to bite them.
The Lions are the only team in the league to have only four wide receivers on the roster. Their RB depth behind Jahmyr Gibbs is suspect after Pacheco's injury. Not adding another safety after Branch and Joseph both landed on the injured reserve is certainly surprising.
Fortunately for the Lions, they still have the ability to make some additions. Last week, they opened up two roster spots by waiving center Seth McLaughlin and RB Jabari Small. Now, they have 51 players on the roster, and there is no reason for Detroit to not use one of them at the very least.
Surprisingly enough, the Lions didn't bring Small or McLaughlin back to the practice squad. It seemed like Detroit waived them after including them on the 53-man roster, just so that they could re-sign them after clearing waivers. But the Lions already have 16 players on the practice squad and would have to open up two spots to include Small and McLaughlin.
They could do so through promotion to the active roster. The Lions have three WRs on the practice squad: Dominic Lovett, Tom Kennedy, and Lucky Jackson. They also have defensive backs, Aamaris Brown and Nick Whiteside. Considering that these are areas where the Lions have an immediate need for more depth, perhaps we could see one or two of these reserves get signed to the 53-man roster.
The Lions could also turn to free agency or the trade market to add more depth. Which direction the Lions go remains to be seen, but it's clear that they could use a little more help in a few areas before Week 1.
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