Lions Make MULTIPLE Moves...This is Concerning

Well, the NFL's mandate to get the rosters cut down to 53 players came and went yesterday Sunday at 6 o'clock Eastern Time. And the Lions, they got their roster paired down to 53. With a couple of surprises perhaps on the defensive side of the ball. But the more concerning side of it is who they had to put on the buff list and how much of an impact that's going to make on the opening day roster with less than two weeks to go before that game against the Saints. We're going to take a look at that, dive into that. And who's going to stand out for the Lions this year on this edition of Lions Digest. Good day everybody. Yours truly, Captain Lou here. Want to take a moment as we always do to remind everyone that is watching for the first time, welcome to the Lions Digest discussion. And we invite all of you to hit that subscribe button. It's free. Let's show everybody why we are, if not the most passionate fan base, which is then one of the most passionate fan bases in all of professional sports, not just in the NFL. And welcome to Lions Digest. All right. The 53-man roster is set as of right now. A couple of surprises as we mentioned. We'll talk about that in a moment. The more concerning thing, who went on the buff list for the Lions and what can we tell from it? Now we all knew that Brian Brandt was probably going to go on the buff list with his Achilles injury, and indeed he did. Now that means he's going to be off at least for the first four games. We knew that was likely. That was not a long shot. If it's a good shot, he might be back for week five, but potentially he probably might be a little bit longer with that Achilles repair. But the injury that concerns me more than anything is going to be the one to Kirby Joseph. Now Kirby Joseph, we all knew there was, you know, he had some issues last year with his knee. But the more concerning thing to me is what I read yesterday. It was posted on social media in one of the outlets in the Detroit area that he was quoted as saying he didn't even know he had cartilage issues in his knee as late as July. And, you know, he's not been able to practice, not been able to play in the preseason, obviously. He's not even at the facility. So that makes one wonder, can he even be counted on at all in the regular season? They're going to miss his play. They're going to miss his game. We documented it on earlier episodes, 20 career interceptions already in four and a half years. So, I mean, he's definitely a presence that's going to be missed for the line. Now let's take a look at the first four games on that Puff List timeline, if you will. They open up against New Orleans. We already talked about that. Then they got that big game just four days later, opening up Buffalo's new stadium. Then after that, they get the reunion with Darren Glenn and the Jets. Then they go to Carolina to take on the Panthers. So there's a possibility Kirby Joseph could be back for that. But I have no reason to believe he's going to. Very concerned about it. When he's not at the facility, I know he was dealing with a personal matter. But when he's not at the facility and you don't really know exactly what's going on, it causes you to wonder, is he going to be available at all in the regular season? Now I know I might be jumping the gun a little bit, but these kind of things concern me. So who do they have to take their place? Well, they've got people that they picked up in the offseason, the Lions did, with some experience at playing the cornerback position, Chuck Clark and Evante Maddox. Let's take a look at the stats of Chuck Clark first. He's played eight years in the NFL, the first six with the Baltimore Ravens, played recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now he's a nine-year vet technically because he had one year missed with an ACL. 123 games, 80 starts, five picks, 309 solo tackles, I think 11 TFLs. So he's got some cred. My only question with him is how much cred is left on his tires. We'll have to wait and see on that. I'm not that concerned with him. The one that I have a little more concern with is Evante Maddox. He played last year with the Lions. He started when Branch went down. He played in 14 games for the Lions last year, three starts. Now he's got an eight-year career as well in the NFL, played 95 games, 44 starts, five interceptions, 302 tackles, you see it right there on the screen. He didn't start as many games as Chuck Clark. Read into that whatever you want. The first thing is he's not Brian Branch, that's for sure. Chuck Clark, he's not Kirby Joseph. I'm not so worried, as I said, about Brian Branch coming back. I think we knew that it was going to be a while. My guess, it'll be after the bye week, which is after game five. So I don't know, or week five. I don't know with Kirby Joseph. That really concerns me with the Lions. Obviously, we're going to have to keep an eye on that. Now, in other news, kind of a surprise here with the Lions on the defensive side of the ball in the backfield for the Lions. Cornerback Nick Whiteside was let go at the cut-down game. I thought he had a pretty good shot to make it. I thought he was going to push for a chance to start. Now, again, and I agree with Richard Silva from the Detroit News. He was looking at some reps potentially to spell DJ Reed and Rakya Singh. Now, Rakya Singh is probably going to be the backup to DJ Reed, although he could start for Keith Abney at the right cornerback position. It all comes down to experience and the feel for it on the defense with Kelvin Sheppard. Keith Abney, the second, of course, is the fifth-round draft pick the Lions got this year in the draft. He's going to step right in more than likely and start at right cornerback. So how confident are you with a rookie starting at the cornerback position in a believed spot for the Lions for the last, you know, how many decades? Really? So this is what we're looking at. DJ Reed, we've talked about it with him, too. So, you know, he's got some health issues from time to time, doing the back flips the whole nine yards. So kind of a little bit concerning there. Let's talk about some good news, though, on the defensive side of the ball, shall we? How about Skyler Gilhow? Sixth-round draft pick for the Lions. He's one of the feel-good stories for the Lions this year. Played really well throughout the preseason. He's going to push for some playing time. He's going to push, and I know I'm going to butcher his name. I always do. He's going to push Levi Onwuazuke for playing time. And there was even a thought that Onwuazuke may not make the roster. How crazy is that? So Skyler Gilhow makes it. He's right now penciled into the depth chart as one of the backups in the interior of that defensive line. He played so well for the Lions in preseason, they had to give him a shot. And so now the front seven, I'm not as worried about with the Lions. You've got Aidan Hutchinson, you've got Wonim, you've got Aleem McNeil. McNeil and Hutchinson didn't see any time in the preseason, didn't have to do that. And as a matter of fact, the front seven, like I said, I don't really have that many concerns about it. I love our linebackers for it. This is the best I have felt about our linebackers for it since we had Chris Neal, Derek Barnes, you've got Malcolm Rodriguez, Rodrigo's there, and, of course, Jack Campbell in the middle, anchoring that base of the fourth reset. Really confident with them. Now with Devin White and Troy Reeder as backups, he's going to be able to spell them as well. So I'm not concerned about the front seven. It's a defensive backfield, and I think a lot of you will agree, that's where the question marks are really going to stand out for the Lions. How long is Brian Branch going to be out? And how long is Kirby Joseph going to be out? More so Kirby Joseph. That's what I'm worried about as a Detroit Lions fan. I don't know. I don't know if we'll see him again this year. We mentioned what he didn't know about with his injuries with the cartilage all of a sudden. When you're playing with that knee injury, who knows when it's going to be time for him to come back. All right, that's going to do it for this edition of Lions Digest. And, again, a reminder for those of you that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to the Lions Digest discussion. And we invite all of you to be a part of the discussion. And, again, hit that subscribe button. Let's show everybody why we are, indeed, one of the more passionate fan bases in all of professional sport. Until next time, Captain Lou saying keep your heads up, keep your sticks down, keep your feet moving, and, as always, keep your minds open. So long. We'll see you next time.