It’s officially cut day, and Dan Campbell has to whittle his roster down to 53 players on Sunday.
There were several players on the bubble before the preseason finale against the Colts, and some may have done enough to earn one of those final roster spots, like Joe Bachie, who finished with the fourth-highest defensive grade in the win. Fellow roster bubble member Dominic Lovett didn’t quite do enough, and that may have sealed his fate.
Lovett had been quiet throughout the preseason, and he needed a really good game in the finale if he wanted to ensure that he made the roster.
That didn’t happen.
Against the Colts, the seventh-round pick from a year ago didn’t have any receptions, wasn’t even targeted, and had a rush for five yards. To top it all off, he had an abysmal 49.5 PFF grade, which was good for the third-worst on the offense, behind fellow roster hopeful Tarik Black.
Neither guys should feel very good about making the roster.
In fact, Colton Pouncy’s projected 53-man roster has the Lions cutting both wideouts and running with five: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Greg Dortch, and Tay Martin.
The receiver room could have used a spark, and Lovett showed “future starting WR in the NFL” potential at Georgia, but he just couldn’t seem to separate from the rest of the wideouts fighting for a roster spot — and he also struggled to separate from defensive backs, obviously.
That clunker of a finale likely sealed Lovett’s fate.
Do the Lions have enough WR firepower?
Honestly, it’s hard to say if the Lions are going to be set at receiver this year with TeSlaa as the projected WR3, but Dortch is a solid fourth option. Martin has very little production throughout his NFL career (three catches for 72 yards and a TD), but the 28-year-old may have just done enough to beat Lovett out for that final receiver spot.
Amon-Ra is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and Williams is fresh off his second straight 1,000-yard season, so the room is very top-heavy. It’ll need TeSlaa to have a breakout year.
The receiver room is a little concerning, especially since no one who was brought in to push for the final wideout spot really stood out this preseason. Was it a quarterback issue? Potentially, but it’s also become clearer that Luke Altmyer is probably not going to be the team’s backup, and he, too, could very well be cut.
Lovett had his chances, but the Lions are going to be a little short on receiver firepower because he never truly stepped up and lived up to his potential.
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