The Lions could be gearing up for trades at multiple positions after some curious cuts
Keep an eye on these spots
The Detroit Lions made some cuts that felt a bit strange, considering how things went this summer on Monday. The ones that stood out were edge rusher Nate Lynn, tackle Dan Skipper, and cornerback Nick Whiteside. All three were projected, or in some cases, fully expected to make the 53-man roster. These moves have led to the belief that a trade, or multiple trades, could be coming.
The tackle spot is one where it most feels like the Lions are gearing up to do something different. While Giovanni Manu showed improvement during the summer, I don’t think anyone would say he’s ready to step forward and play the swing tackle position Skipper was holding down. Jamarco Jones is on the roster, but I can’t say he wildly impressed this summer or was necessarily much better than Skipper, who had some struggles.
All that leads to the idea that the Lions are working on some roster gymnastics where they plan to get Skipper back, or they’re looking to get into this busy trade market to find their swing tackle. The latter seems a bit more realistic since Skipper did have those struggles this summer.
On the edge rusher side, there are a ton of reasons to believe Za’Darius Smith could return, but cutting Lynn still wouldn’t make a lot of sense, even if Smith was already on the roster. The Lions are expected to start the season without Ahmed Hassanein and Josh Paschal. We don’t know when either is coming back at this time. So depth was something everyone had their eyes on. Isaac Ukwu has not been reportedly cut yet, so maybe the Lions plan to go that route with him.
A trade could be made at this spot, but it makes more sense if the Lions wait to see how Tuesday shakes out and then get involved on the waiver wire. They’re low priority on there now, but that didn’t stop them from claiming players last summer. The hope is that Lynn clears waivers, and then they’ll probably sign him to the practice squad.
The last one is cornerback. The Lions were already pretty light here depth-wise. They could make the call to go with just five guys, but it would be surprising if they didn’t at least try to find a sixth. A trade could happen, but the more expected outcome should be the Lions either watching the waiver wire or grabbing someone who clears waivers.
There could be a trade at all three positions, but tackle makes the most sense. We’ll see what the Lions do in the coming days. Remember, the initial 53-man roster you’ll see on Tuesday is not the final roster.
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