The Detroit Lions have whittled their 90-man roster down to the final 53 players on Sunday, but remained quiet about the final cuts for hours after the 6 p.m. deadline.
One insider believes that head coach Dan Campbell did this on purpose, explaining the likely reason for the team’s delay in reporting the final roster.
Dan Campbell May Have Intentionally Slowed Roster News
Reporter Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News noted that the Lions had not yet made an official announcement of the 53-man roster nearly two hours after the deadline passed. While teams have until 6 p.m. on Sunday to make their final cuts, there is no publicly available database to show these moves, and teams have discretion on when to report them.
Bianchi suggested that Campbell wanted to take a personal approach after the team’s late preseason finale, informing those players personally who missed the final roster.
“One possible explanation for #Lions still not releasing full 53-man roster: This thing came down to the absolute wire with a tight turnaround from Saturday’s preseason finale, and Dan Campbell prob feels he owes each cut the respect of telling them in person,” Bianchi wrote, adding that it was just “speculation” on his part.
The delay in reporting from the Lions had attracted some attention, especially as other teams around the NFL were reporting their full depth charts.
But Campbell had also spoken about the difficult decisions facing the team, noting after Saturday’s preseason game that there would be a lot of emotions in the locker room.
“It’s an exciting time and it’s also kind of a somber time because we know that we’ve got to make the moves tomorrow,” Campbell said, via USA Today’s Lions Wire.
Lions Already Making Difficult Decisions
While the full announcement had yet to come out, several of Detroit’s roster cuts leaked throughout the day on Sunday. That included a final decision on the quarterback race, with veteran Joshua Dobbs apparently winning the job.
The Lions waived rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer, who is expected to return to the practice squad as long as he clears waivers. The Lions were expected to use this season getting Altmyer up to speed and learning behind the veteran Dobbs, who was a late addition to training camp after Teddy Bridgewater’s retirement.
The Lions made some other roster decisions, announcing that they would start the year with both members of their strong safety tandem missing. Both Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning they will miss at least the first four games of the season.
Lions Insider Explains Dan Campbell’s Head-Turning Decision on Final Roster Cuts