Detroit Lions Announce Roster Cuts ahead of NFL Draft

The Detroit Lions announced today that they have released tight end Paul Butler, wide receiver Jonathan Duhart and linebacker Steve Longa.

The Lions announced today that they have released TE Paul Butler, WR Jonathan Duhart and LB Steve Longa.
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 15, 2020

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Prior to Wednesday's roster cuts, Detroit had 81 players under contract.

With nine draft picks in the upcoming draft, Detroit needed to add roster space in order to sign any players not selected by other NFL organizations.

The Lions now avoid having their 90-man roster being maxed out with today's roster cuts.

Longa joined the Lions in 2016, and is the only player released with experience playing in the regular season. He tore his ACL in 2018 and had limited productivity in his time with the Lions. Injuries caused Longa to miss a total of 21 games the past two seasons.

The veteran linebacker played at Rutgers and went undrafted in 2016.

In the offseason, Detroit added several players to bolster the special teams unit. With the additions of Elijah Lee, Tony McRae, Geremy Davis, Darryl Roberts and Jayron Kearse, Longa was a long shot to remain on the Lions roster beyond the 2019 season.

Duhart went undrafted out of Old Dominion last year.

Butler signed a future contract with the Lions after the 2019 season. He previously spent time with the Oakland Raiders organization prior to signing with Detroit.

None of the players released Wednesday saw game action for the Lions in 2019.

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