Getty Chris Lacy makes a catch in a Lions game.
The Detroit Lions recently cut wideout Chris Lacy, but they have wasted little time getting him back in the mix ahead of the 2020 season.
Lacy, who was cut a week ago to get the team down to 80 players, is now back with the roster according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
Detroit has decent wideout depth on the roster, so it’s possible Lacy is returning to take some of the pressure off of the group as they push through a grueling few weeks of camp.
Chris Lacy Stats
Lacy was originally signed out of the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent, but the Lions picked him up and he’s bounced from the practice squad to the roster plenty since. Lacy made waves with several nice plays during training camp and earned himself the chance to stick around as a result of that work. He stuck late last season with the roster and has 60 receiving yards to his credit in the league. Lacy has a big body and that’s something the Lions have liked about him. He will add quality depth to the roster at this point in time.
Chris Lacy’s Uphill Roster Battle
Suddenly, the Lions have some major depth at wideout, with not only Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones looking like one of the best duos in football, but with Marvin Hall emerging as one of the best deep ball threats in the league, Danny Amendola holding things down in the slot and even rookie Quintez Cephus coming into the mix and looking like a potential young star. Lacy has been a camp star the last few years and used it to his advantage in 2019 to nail down a role. This year, though, he will have to do a lot more than that in order to stick around given the sheer depth of this group.
The numbers game was why Lacy was cut in the first place, and now he will have to prove all over again why he deserves to stick around through camp ahead of the season.
Quintez Cephus Turning Heads in Camp
Lacy might have an uphill roster battle thanks to one of the newest members of the team. So far, the rookie Cephus has already been impressive. As The Athletic’s Chris Burke observed during a practice session, he’s been having some quality battles on the field with fellow rookie Jeff Okudah in a throwback to the duo’s days in the Big Ten. More than that, though, Cephus is showing himself to be an excellent route runner and a patient in finding space to get open.
Really impressed by Quintez Cephus today. Had some good battles with Okudah, caught a TD during 11-on-11s. He’s meticulous in his routes so he can take a second to uncover, but he keeps finding space.
Okudah has said in the past that he believed Cephus to be the best wideout he faced while in college, so now that the pair face off against each other daily in practice, it can be a case of iron sharpening iron in practice to make the Lions better for the future.
If there was a knock against Cephus coming into the league, it was his speed. His ability to run good routes, wiggle free, get open and bring down catches could be what helps him excel at the next level, however.
The Lions will hope they can get quick results from Cephus, but certainly, it’s been a case of so far, so good for the former Badger. It will be interesting to see how that impacts Lacy in the end.
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