After 7 different stops in the NFL, this veteran cornerback has a chance to make the Lions the final stop
All he needs is an opportunity and he has one in Detroit
It’s been a rough go for Detroit Lions cornerback Luq Barcoo. Since coming into the NFL in 2020, he’s played for eight different teams. The Jaguars, Cardinals, 49ers, Chiefs, Jets, Steelers, Cowboys, and now the Lions. He also had a stop in the XFL for the San Anontion Brahmas. He had an All-XFL season that year.
With those seven teams before the Lions, Barcoo has only had an opportunity to play regular-season games for just one of those teams. That was the Jaguars in his rookie season. The interesting thing about Barcoo is that he’s never really looked bad in any of the stops he’s had. He’s just been the victim of timing, in the sense that he’s had very little. He keeps showing up to teams late in the summer and never really gets the shot to show long term what he can do.
The Steelers were the last team to give him time, and it paid off. He played solidly in the preseason and got the opportunity to spend the 2023 season on their practice squad, and was then signed to a Futures deal after the year. Then the Steelers just didn’t have room for him, and he completely missed the 2024 season.
He showed up late again this summer for the Lions. He was signed on the fifth and got to make his preseason debut on Saturday. He made the most of it with two tackles, two pass breakups, and he only allowed two catches on six targets. It was impressive. It’s what he needed to show at this point because there is a spot on the roster for another cornerback after Ennis Rakestraw’s season-ending injury. Barcoo knows that, and he plans to show what he can do down the stretch.
“Just trying to show that I can compete at a high level. I feel like my career hasn’t really went how I wanted to go. I’ve been on a bunch of different teams and stuff, but I feel like the pieces fall where they need to. I feel like it could be good for me. So I’m just trying to go out there and compete and show that I can play with anybody.”
Barcoo says he can play just about anywhere in the secondary. He can play inside and outside, and he can play special teams. He also said that of all the places he’s been in the NFL, the Lions practice like no other team. There’s a lot of physicality, and he likes that and feels he has a chance in Detroit.
“I like the way Coach runs the program. I feel like here the guys that’s making plays, and really the best guys are going to play. So I feel like it’s good competition here. And I like the atmosphere. Like in practice, a lot of teams don’t let you compete how they let you compete here. So I really like that it’s like a next man up type of program, more you’re making plays, more you’re gonna be out there. I really feel like I got a good opportunity.”
Right now, Barcoo has to compete with Nick Whiteside, D.J. Miller, Allan George, and Tyson Russell. There are arguably two spots left with Khalil Dorsey not back yet. So Barcoo has a real shot to show out for another week of practice and another preseason game and do enough to make a 53-man roster for the first time in his career. Let’s see how it goes.