When the Detroit Lions signed veteran cornerback Roger McCreary in NFL free agency, he had the potential to provide the depth the team needed in the secondary. But with one week left until roster cutdown day, McCreary isn’t guaranteed to make the team’s final roster.
On Sunday, SI on Lions’ John Maakaron projected McCreary to miss the roster cut. Maakaron made that prediction despite projecting Detroit would keep seven cornerbacks.
Those seven cornerbacks were D.J. Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw, Nick Whiteside, Keith Abney II, Khalil Dorsey and Christian Izien.
The NFL’s roster cutdown day will be Sunday, August 30. Every team’s roster must be trimmed to 53 players by 6 pm ET that day.
CB Roger McCreary Projected to Not Make Lions
GettyVeteran cornerback Roger McCreary is in his first season with the Detroit Lions.
McCreary potentially not making Detroit’s roster is somewhat tied to the rise of one of the team’s Day 3 rookies.
Abney received praise early in offseason workouts as a potential sleeper. The Lions selected Abney at No. 157 overall in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Abney has continued to experience success this month. So has Whiteside, and with the team’s roster locks at cornerback and the potential special teams contributors, McCreary getting squeezed off the Detroit 53-man roster is a distinct possibility.
The Tennessee Titans selected McCreary at No. 35 overall in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He played parts of four seasons with the Titans before Tennessee dealt him to the Los Angeles Rams at the NFL trade deadline last year.
The Rams added McCreary for depth. He appeared in six games but didn’t start for the team. He played just 38 defensive snaps while lining up for 61 on special teams.
McCreary received his most playing time as a rookie in 2022. He played 1,165 defensive snaps with the Titans that year. But in all three of his full seasons in Tennessee, he played at least 650 defensive snaps.
In 14 games overall last season, McCreary had 37 combined tackles, two pass defenses and one interception.
Lions CB Depth Entering Final Week of NFL Preseason
GettySI on Lions’ John Maakaron projected veteran cornerback Roger McCreary will not make the team’s final 53-man roster this week.
The Lions will enter the final week of the preseason with nine cornerbacks on their roster. But they also have three defenders listed as defensive backs along with three safeties.
Maakaron placed one of those “defensive backs” — Izien — on his list of the team’s cornerbacks.
At cornerback, Maakaron had Bump Cooper Jr. and Ekow Boye-Doe missing the cut, in addition to McCreary.
It’s important not to place too much emphasis on an NFL team’s depth chart in August. But on Detroit’s depth chart, McCreary currently sits as the team’s starting nickel cornerback. The Lions have Reed and Ya-Sin listed as their starting outside cornerbacks.
Dorsey and Abney, who the SI on Lions analyst predicted would make the roster, are on Detroit’s third-team defense on the depth chart.
Head coach Dan Campbell and his coaching staff could have intriguing decisions to make at several roster spots this week. McCreary and the other cornerbacks will certainly be one of them.
Former 2nd-Round Pick Predicted to Miss Lions Roster Cut