How Lions Could Handle Roster Cutdown Process

Five more players will be shed from the Lions' active roster Tuesday.

Dan Campbell's team, which currently sits at 85 players, needs to be trimmed down to 80 by Tuesday at 4 p.m. (EST).

Yet, it doesn't mean that players have to be cut. Instead, Detroit could opt to place some of its injured players on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. This list could include rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams, second-year cornerback Jerry Jacobs and veteran EDGE Romeo Okwara.

And, if the Lions were to go this route, with designating Williams, Jacobs and Okwara as "reserves," it would mean that the organization would only have to release two players from its active roster by the aforementioned 4 p.m. deadline.

Additionally, anybody designated as a reserve player would be forced to miss the first four games of the regular season.

Campbell addressed the looming roster cuts on Monday with reporters.

"(Lions general manager) Brad (Holmes) and I are still discussing. I think there’s a good chance we’ll have some of those (players kept on reserve/PUP list), maybe three out of the five or somewhere in there, and then you’ve still got a couple moves to make," Campbell expressed. "But, we’re going back and forth and so much of (it) is, do we think -- when do we think some of those players will be ready, Week 2? I mean, you do that, then you lose them for the first four weeks of the season, which, that’s okay. But, yet, if we think somebody will be ready to practice, for example, Jerry (Jacobs), let’s say Week 1, but he won’t be ready to play for a bit, two or three more weeks or something, then you -- you just want to get him practice time in each practice once everything is right. So, we’re kind of gauging that right now.”

Campbell & Co. could also decide to keep the likes of rookie EDGE Josh Paschal and fullback Jason Cabinda on the reserve/PUP list to start the season.

When asked Monday about the amount of players he plans on keeping on PUP, Campbell replied, "Could be one, could be five."

After Tuesday, the Lions will have to reduce the roster by another 27 players -- to 53 individuals -- by the 4 p.m. deadline on August 30.

It won't be an easy task for Campbell and Holmes, with an estimated eight-10 roster spots still to be decided, according to the second-year Detroit head coach.

“Tough,” Campbell said, when asked to describe the aforementioned cutdown process. “It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be very difficult. And, there again, it just goes to show what (Holmes) has done. That’s a credit to him, the talent he’s brought in. We’re a lot further ahead than we were last year.”