Training Camp Roster Battles Are Heating Up at Allen Park
The first week of training camp is in the books and we have already got movement on the roster bubble. Some guys are climbing. Some guys are sliding. And one seat just got a whole lot hotter.
This is the Lions Bubble Pressure Meter. Think of it as your weekly guide to the bottom half of the roster, the guys fighting for their professional lives while the starters get their reps and go home. Four tiers. Green means you are safe, you are on the 53-man roster if it ended today. Yellow means watching, you are doing well but you still have work to do. Orange means in danger, you are trending downward and I am concerned. Red means must have a big week, you are in as much trouble as you could possibly be and you need to turn it around fast.
Let’s get into it.
The Offense: Scruggs Climbs, Manu’s World Collapses
Malik Cunningham moved from in danger to watching. I thought he had a strong start to camp. No pads yet, so next week when the pads come on that is when things get serious. That is when guys are going to be scrutinized more heavily than ever. But Cunningham showed some stuff. Do I think he makes the 53? No. But I am looking at him for a practice squad spot at this point.
Lawrence Keys got some work as a return man and looked comfortable. Greg Dortch has that job and I think Tom Kennedy has a real shot at sticking around, but Keys looked at home back there. He had a couple of receiving targets in the second and third team reps that did not look half bad. I am definitely watching him.
Now let’s talk about Giovanni Manu, because this is the hot seat I mentioned.
Manu is in the must have a big week tier and the problem is I do not know when that week is going to come. He came out the first day of practice playing left tackle with second and third team reps, and then all of a sudden on Day 2 he is on the NFI and Dan Campbell is talking about an undisclosed injury. Right now this just looks bad for him. I am struggling to find a way to get Manu onto this roster. Honestly I am struggling to find a way to get him onto the practice squad. When he comes off the NFI, which we do not know when that will be, he has got to have an unbelievable week that turns everything around. He was already behind the eight ball coming into camp and now he is even further behind because he has an injury to deal with.
One guy who moved to safe is Juice Scruggs. Scruggs has been getting all the first team left guard reps this week with Christian Mahogany out. Mahogany was back on Friday and did take first team reps in 11-on-11s, but the fact that Detroit saw fit to have Scruggs there on the first team says a lot.
Ben Bartch is another guy dealing with something and the Lions are bringing him back slowly. Campbell said Bartch is going to start getting some team reps next week. But Scruggs looked fine. Campbell had some really good things to say about him Friday morning, called him a pro, but also noted they see him more as a center. With Mahogany and Bartch coming back you have to wonder if Scruggs comes out of those first team left guard reps or continues to get some going forward, because that job is still wide open. He could move to the center spot on the second team. Michael Niese has been working at center there and he is in danger, not necessarily because he is bad but because he is so far down the depth chart that I do not know how he climbs back up.
The Defense: Whiteside Is Making Noise, Turner Already Hurt
The first change you will see on the defensive side is that Payton Turner is in danger.
I think he could come right back out of this. The constant thing with Turner has been his injury history and here we are just a couple of days into camp with Campbell saying this latest issue is minor, just a little thing, and Turner should be back soon. It just does not look good that we are a couple of days into camp and there are already some injury problems. I see the vision for him as a pass rush specialist off the bench. I think the Lions see that vision as well. I do not think Turner will be in danger for a long time, but I do worry about where it could go because the last thing Detroit wants is another Marcus Davenport situation. I am not saying this is that. I am definitely not saying that. But I had to move him there this week.
Nick Whiteside is safe. That dude is blowing it up right now.
First day, three pass breakups. Had a great second day. Friday he starts the day with an interception on Teddy Bridgewater. We are getting to a point where he is going to start getting first team reps at some point. Not to say that Rock Ya-Sin or Ennis Rakestraw are bad, because they are both doing well, but eventually the Lions are going to want to see what they can get out of Whiteside on the first team. I am not saying at this juncture that he is going to win the CB2 starting job. I am saying it is possible. But I am saying he is making this 53-man roster. You keep stacking weeks like this and anything is possible because it has been that kind of week for him.
Because of Whiteside’s rise I moved De’Shawn Rucker and Aamaris Brown to in danger. Those guys did not do anything that stood out to me this week. The only thing that really stood out was them getting yelled at in drills and dropping the ball. Not a huge deal. First week of camp of their NFL careers. They could easily bump back up into the watching tier and I would not blink an eye. But Whiteside looking this good and Khalil Dorsey being so important on special teams is canceling those guys out. I do not see a world where either undrafted corner makes the 53-man roster, but I could see a world where one or both of them make the practice squad if they start finding their stride. With rookies you do not necessarily expect that to happen the first week. Something that develops down the line.
We will come back next week after Week 2 and talk about the changes then. Let’s see how it all shakes out.
Is Whiteside a real thing or are we just setting ourselves up for heartbreak again? Drop your take below.
