Detroit Lions Mailbag: The Lions could use a third quarterback, but they do presumably already have their emergency quarterback, and it’s not who you think

Plus we answer questions about Marcus Davenport, Tate Ratledge, and more

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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All of the end-of-summer madness is over for the Detroit Lions, and we have a full look at what the 2025 Lions look like on paper. Lions fans have a lot of questions. Let’s answer them.

Here’s the thing: it won’t matter at any time, and Dan Campbell knows that.

“First of all, it doesn’t matter what I say. It’s already been written, so that’s coming. That’s already a narrative. I’m not going to change that, none of us will. A loss, it’s coming, we don’t do well on offense, it’s coming. Something happens defensively, it’s coming. That narrative is coming. It’s written, it’s done, I have no control over that.” 

He’s right, anytime something happens with this team, the national media will be ready to jump on the idea that it was because of the losses of Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn. The likelihood that Campbell gets credit for the good stuff is probably pretty low. It’ll probably shift to something to the effect of “this team is so good that you couldn’t possibly mess it up.” Credit is rarely given, but criticism is always given.

The Lions filled their final practice squad spot on Thursday with Andre Carter, but I still believe they could be on the lookout for a quarterback. Here are a few guys I think could be targets:

  • Dorian Thompson-Robinson: My personal favorite of the group. Thompson-Robinson brings a lot of mobility and has an arm, but he needs coaching really badly. He tends ot make some errant throws and struggles under pressure. I’m interested to see what he can do with a good staff.
  • Desmond Ridder: He’s struggled to find a home since the Falcons released him, and he’s not going to be a starting quarterback ever again, most likely. But for a practice squad quarterback, he has some value since he does have that playing time.
  • AJ McCaron: With McCaron, you essentially have David Blough again. It’s like having another quarterback coach.
  • Kyle Trask: Just spent the last four seasons with the Buccaneers and at one point in time was considered to be the heir to Tom Brady’s throne. That never happened. It never really came close to happening either. He’s an intriguing option.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of guys coming from the UFL who can jump into the NFL and become a big-time part of a team. Guys like Jake Bates aren’t usually available in the UFL. But still, it’s worth bringing these guys in for the summer because you never know what you can get. They’re all in shape since they just got done playing a season’s worth of games, and every now and again, you find a guy like Saylors who can be a good hand. That’s how the spring league should be looked at. If you can find someone who can give you good special teams reps during the season or help guys grow at practice, that’s a big help.

He did. Davenport made it into the camp observation articles daily. He got at least one sack every day I was at camp this summer. Not only that, he brought some staunch run defense to the table, too. It’s going to sound like hyperbole, but if Davenport stays healthy all year, he’s going to be a big problem for opposing offenses, and Brad Holmes will be dunking on everyone after the season because he was right. We’ll see.

We’ll have to see what it looks like in a real game during the season, but there’s a good level of confidence in this right now. I felt they handled things against the Dolphins and Texans’ defense pretty well and kept Jared Goff clean all day. This doesn’t mean Goff will never get sacked again. He’s still going to deal with pressure, and there will still be a period where gelling in live games is going to need to happen. But this is a solid group.

As far as Ratledge at center, I thought he looked really comfortable there during the short amount of time we saw him there. That was without pads, though, so there is a lot left to do in terms of getting him ready to be a center in the NFL. But I think he could handle it.

My guess is it’s going to be Khalil Dorsey and Daniel Thomas, with Dominic Lovett working in here and there. That’s a pretty strong group. This spot doesn’t get talked about a lot, but it’s an important position that has a lot of bearing on field position.

Feels like the Lions need to sign a QB to the practice squad, if only to take advantage of the emergency QB rule. Is it worth the risk to only carry two on the roster?

— Thomas (@thomasording.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 4:13 PM

I do think they should grab a third guy to have on the practice squad, and maybe they will at some point. They do have an emergency quarterback already on the roster, though, if things are presumably the same as they were last year. That’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. He was the emergency guy last year.

What kind of usage can we realistically expect from TeSlaa during the season? Preseason is still Preseason, after all.

— Spencer B. (@ancienteadie.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM

I think you should expect to see him out there about as much as you did Tim Patrick last season. That’s about 700 snaps. He’ll see some targets, but don’t expect him to be like a third 1,000-yard guy. In our annual stat projection piece, we have him getting 30 receptions for 389 yards and three touchdowns. That’s a solid rookie year for him if you ask me.

Will Gio get reps in Jumbo package?

— Dannyboyinthesky (@dannyboyinthesky.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 12:26 PM

That’s an interesting thought. At this point, I know that the Lions like Jamarco Jones as their swing tackle, but I am curious to see if Manu gets any reps at all there this season. My guess is that we don’t see a lot of him. The Lions have Jones, and if they feel they need to make a change, Dan Skipper is on the practice squad and can be elevated or signed to the 53-man roster at any time. I’m not totally sure they think Manu is ready to jump out there just yet. We’ll see, though.

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