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The Detroit Lions faced some of their most difficult decisions on final cutdown day in years, especially on defense. As a result, the team departed with one of their top cornerback performers from the past couple months.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on August 29 that the Lions waived undrafted rookie cornerback Starling Thomas V.
This came as a major surprise to some Lions insiders. The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett and The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy both projected Thomas to make the 53-man roster.
Immediately after Fowler’s report, Pouncy and MLive.com’s Ben Raven each expressed their surprise that the Lions did not make room for Thomas on their first official roster of the 2023 season.
Raven also conveyed how good Thomas was in joint practices against the New York Giants.
Thomas went undrafted from UAB this year. He played five seasons at UAB, recording 107 total tackles, 28 pass defenses, and 3 interceptions.
CB Emmanuel Moseley Moves Off PUP Onto Active Roster
Part of why Thomas was a surprising cut for the Lions was few members of the media anticipated Emmanuel Moseley being ready for Week 1 of the 2023 season.
But that’s the reality for the Lions. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Lions moved Moseley off the Physically Unable to Perform List and onto the active roster. That will allow Moseley to play on Thursday, September 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Moseley was certainly excited about the news that he is joining the active roster.
“Stay down trust the process and let God work,” Moseley wrote on Twitter. “God did.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell provided a bit of a conflicting update on Moseley in the middle of August. That placed a cloud over whether Moseley would be able to return for the start of the 2023 season.
“I would say he’s on track, but it’s going to be a while,” Campbell told the media on August 14. “It’ll be a while.”
Campbell continued to explain that Moseley’s recovery, at that time, was pushed back 4-5 weeks, but before that new timetable, the cornerback had been 4-5 weeks ahead of schedule.
Moseley is attempting to return from a torn ACL he suffered while playing for the San Francisco 49ers during Week 5 of last season.
This past offseason, Moseley signed a one-year, $6 million deal to join the Lions. In five seasons with the 49ers, he posted 162 combined tackles, including 5 tackles for loss, 33 pass defenses and 4 interceptions.
It will be interesting to see how quickly Moseley plays a majority of the team’s snaps on defense. Moseley played 96% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps in the first five games last season.
The Lions also signed cornerbacks Cameron Sutton and C.J. Garner-Johnson in free agency this offseason. Sutton is projected to start while Garner-Johnson is expected to play slot cornerback.
When fully ready, Moseley could start opposite Sutton.
Lions Elect to Cut CB Starling Thomas V
In addition to moving Moseley to the active roster, the Lions chose to keep cornerbacks Steven Gilmore and Khalil Dorsey, along with Sutton, Gardner-Johnson, Jerry Jacobs, Brian Branch and Will Harris.
Jacobs and Harris are veterans who possess starting experience. They both figure to provide depth off the bench this season. Branch was one of Detroit’s second-round picks this year.
Gilmore returned an interception for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in the preseason. His inclusion on the roster is not surprising.
But Birkett and Pouncy each predicted Dorsey to be cut. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox also identified Dorsey as a player who should be released before the beginning of the regular season.
Instead, it’s Dorsey on the roster instead of Thomas. Now, it will be interesting to see if the Lions are able to sign Thomas to the practice squad.
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