Dan Campbell Is 'Realist' Regarding Talent Level of Lions' Roster

Dan Campbell provides an update on the position battles that are still being decided, ahead of roster cuts next week.

Facing the final roster cuts next week, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has plenty of decisions to make.

Currently, the active roster sits at 80 players. With the preseason finale scheduled for Sunday, the Lions will have to trim their roster down to its final form of 53 players on Tuesday.

This makes for several tough choices for Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes. Detroit's second-year head man was asked about the decisions and what will factor into his thought process when making them.

“Well, always the tiebreaker is gonna be special teams,” Campbell said. “That’s the first. If it’s close at all, it needs to be someone who can help us on special teams. I mean, certainly it’s hard. You’re just gonna have to, we have to weight it. Dependability and look, trust is a big deal with me. But, I’m also a realist, too. I understand that you can have a team full of those guys, and if you don’t have enough talent, you’ll get beat. So, it’s a juggling act that I have to do here.”

The Lions have been able to avoid making a plethora of cuts, due to their decision to place multiple injured players on reserve lists. Now, however, many players await their fate, following Detroit's preseason finale against Pittsburgh.

“It’s tough, it’s gonna be hard, because you’re gonna be, Brad and I went through it again (Thursday) night,” Campbell commented. “You go through these scenarios, doing the balancing. You’re juggling the durability, the dependability. They do it right, but are they good enough, truly good enough versus the talent, flash player, but can’t trust them. They can do it if the light comes on. It’s hard, but that’s the task we’re given.”

Defense must 'weather the storm’

The Lions have been dealt several tough blows on the defensive side of the ball from an injury standpoint. Several key players, such as Levi Onwuzurike, Jerry Jacobs, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Romeo Okwara and Julian Okwara, are dealing with injuries.

On Tuesday, Detroit announced that it had moved Romeo Okwara and rookie defensive lineman Josh Paschal to the reserve/Physically Unable to Participate list.

Campbell provided an update on Julian Okwara Friday, stating that he may have the "best chance,” among the plethora of injured players, to return to action. The head coach clarified that the defender was dealing with a lower-leg injury.

With so many injured players on the defensive side, Campbell made a point of what the defense needs to do ahead of the start of the regular season.

“It’s not easy,” Campbell remarked. “But, there again, I think we’re gonna have to weather that storm, we’re gonna have to weather it a little bit. Because those guys, there’s no setbacks, they’re getting better. So, I think we do the best we can with what we have in the moment, and then know we’ve got reinforcements coming.”

Roster battles

The Lions have had several open position battles throughout training camp. The most notable has been at linebacker, where both starting spots are up for grabs.

Heading into the final stretch before the roster is trimmed, Campbell hasn’t formally announced who will start. The team has made one cut at the position already, as Shaun Dion Hamilton was cut on Tuesday.

Campbell was asked Friday about the amount of roster spots available, to which he made a note of several ongoing battles. He also touched on the importance of special teams and how players at different positions are vying for the final roster spots.

“So much of it is, our linebacker position is still in flux right now,” Campbell noted. “That’s an ongoing battle. Certainly, some of our backup positions, the backup safety position is big right now, as it relates to special teams. The backup linebacker, forget even that these guys are jockeying for positions as starters, but that relative to the half backs, who’s gonna help us more on special teams. The wide receivers versus the DBs, the tight ends relative to the linebackers, or running backs, who’s gonna give us the most bang for our buck on special teams.”

Briefly

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson confirmed Tim Boyle as the starter for Sunday’s preseason finale. Johnson said he was unsure if fellow backup David Blough would also get an opportunity to play with the starters.