Grading Detroit Lions' 2021 Roster

The Detroit Lions officially announced their 53-man roster, soon after the 4 p.m. (EST) cutdown deadline had passed.

Upon initial review of the 2021 edition of the team assembled by general manager Brad Holmes & Co., the organization has certainly committed to going younger moving forward.

Three undrafted rookie free agents will play in the secondary, alongside Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye.

Bobby Price, Jerry Jacobs and AJ Parker will have their opportunity to prove the coaching staff right for taking a chance on them and over proven veterans who have logged many years in the league.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who has been mostly forthright in his comments to the media, relayed that the challenge this season was always going to be balancing "urgency and patience at the same time."

"I don’t know how to do that, but I’m working on it," Campbell said, following the Lions' preseason finale. "But, I’m encouraged. There’s things that I see from all three phases that we’re improving in. We are. Guys are improving. We’re getting better. Its' just -- it’s a process."

Campbell added, "We’re getting there. The most important thing is that, man, we get better from where we’re at right now to the end of next week, before they get off for three days. And then, we’re better against Green Bay than we were San Fran (San Francisco). And better against Baltimore than we were Green Bay. That’s the most important thing. We just have to get a little bit better every week and improve. But, I do believe we have the right makeup of guys and the right core players on this team to give us a chance.”

No kickers were on the initial 53-man roster, but it is believed to be a strategy to either carry an extra member of the roster or to sign another kicker who was let go from another team.

Backup quarterback Tim Boyle is likely headed to injured reserve; thus, opening up a roster slot for Detroit's next kicker.

To nobody's surprise, the Lions elected to keep only two tight ends, as both Alize Mack and Brock Wright failed to earn the third spot behind T.J. Hockenson and Darren Fells.

The best story coming out of camp is that of wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who earned his spot on the team's roster with his play all throughout training camp and the three preseason games.

“He just makes plays,” Campbell said last week. “I feel like -- I’m going to beat this into the ground, but we’re getting to the point now where it’s like you want to find guys that you trust. Ultimately, we can wrap it into this package of, ‘He does this well. Blah blah blah.’ But, ultimately, from where I sit and my coordinators and coaches, you want guys you can trust. We trust Tom Kennedy right now.”

The team will go through their growing pains early, but if the coaching staff is as good as advertised, this collection of players has the chance to surprise many with its grit and hustle every Sunday.

2021 Roster Grade: C+