Getty Lions quarterback Jared Goff and wideout Quintez Cephus celebrate a touchdown.
Tough decisions will be made for the Detroit Lions in the coming days, and the team is going to have to get used to losing good players, especially as their roster depth improves.
One of those decisions could well be felt at wide receiver, suddenly one of the deeper spots on the Lions’ roster. That depth could lead to an uncomfortable decision having to be made in the days ahead.
According to Eric Edholm of NFL.com, the person most impacted by all of this could be Quintez Cephus. While the pass catcher could be seen by some as being in a good position to make the roster, at this point, he could also be on the outside looking in.
Edholm included Cephus as a potential cut for the team, and a big reason was his durability issues and reliability of other players.
“Cephus has started games for the Lions the past two seasons and has had some moments; he seems to do his best work versus NFC North opponents. But what is his future with the team? Durability has been an issue, and with August folk hero Tom Kennedy once again destroying the preseason, the Lions might want to keep a more reliable (the word Dan Campbell most often uses when describing Kennedy) option until Jameson Williams is healthy enough to play.”
Whether Cephus is on the bubble or not remains to be seen. Kennedy has played his way off, but the team could have room for another player. That could either be Cephus or Trinity Benson, who made a nice statement in Week 2.
Add it up and Cephus could be losing his grip on a roster spot. That could lead to a cut in the future.
Cephus Enjoying Impressive Offseason for Lions
This offseason, Cephus had turned in the big plays for Detroit’s offense until he was dinged up during camp. That injury could have cost him some major momentum at this point in time.
At one point during camp, the Lions watched as Cephus turned in big catches on the regular. During offseason workouts in June, Cephus was turning in the eye-opening plays:
Q with the one-hander!
After that, Cephus was getting it done in camp as well. In an early July camp, he went up and pulled the ball in with a great arm catch, turning a possible incompletion into a big play:
Is the “Catch of #LionsCamp” contest over already?
You tell us, @QoDeep_87!
In spite of this, he got hurt and has lost some momentum. That could lead him to being closer on the bubble than some might think at this point.
Lions Shouldn’t Cut Cephus
While it’s easy to understand why some think Cephus could be removed, the Lions should keep him around for the future in order to help them try and grow their offense.
DJ Chark is only signed through this season, and there’s still no idea how Jameson Williams is going to recover off ACL surgery. There’s also the prospect of injuries, which rocked Detroit last year. While it looks as if Cephus is on track to play a minimal role now, that could change in a hurry.
It’s certainly not everyday the Lions draft productive wide receivers, so instead of opening another hole on their roster for unproven players, the team should simply stick with Cephus and see what he can do in 2022.
There’s a good chance Cephus will be able to do some damage on the field and help Detroit’s offense unlock more big plays.
If not for the Lions, he will likely be doing it elsewhere in the event that he gets slashed from the team.