The Biggest Decision Lions Coach Dan Campbell Must Make This Week

With the new roster cut date, the Detroit Lions will have to make several key decisions in a timely manner.

Detroit plays its preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts at Noon Saturday, and must make their initial 53-man roster final by 6 p.m. Sunday. As a result, the final evaluations provided by players in the preseason finale will carry some weight, but the performance in the week of practice leading up to it will be just as important.

The Lions have had nearly a month to evaluate many of the position battles on their roster, but one that has been held in a relatively short amount of time is the backup quarterback competition.

Detroit entered the preseason with two players competing for the job behind starter Jared Goff in veteran Teddy Bridgewater and undrafted free agent Luke Altmyer. Bridgewater was expected to be a lock for the spot due to his leadership ability and experience in the offense.

However, a wrench was thrown in those plans when Bridgewater announced his retirement, and as a result the Lions signed veteran Joshua Dobbs to compete with Altmyer. However, Dobbs has been with the team for two weeks, and some of his evaluation will have to be based on his previous playing experience as a result.

Now, head coach Dan Campbell will have to make a decision this week about which of the two quarterbacks to carry into the regular season. Both have their respective cases, with Dobbs being an experienced option with familiarity in coordinator Drew Petzing's scheme and Altmyer being a rookie with promise and the ability to develop behind Goff.

Goff has proven to be one of the NFL's most durable quarterbacks, however trends across the league indicate just how important it is to have a quality backup. Last season alone, 63 different players started a game in the regular season.

While the Lions have been fortunate to have Goff for all but three games of his five seasons with the team, they need a reliable backup given their championship aspirations should he go down.

Between the two, Dobbs has the inside track to the job given the fact that he has proven he can be successful. He's made 15 starts in his career, and while he has a 3-12 record in those games he has proven he can get hot for stretches and fuel an offense.

However, there is a case for the team to keep Altmyer. He's shown some ability, and while he doesn't have nearly the level of experience that Dobbs has, he has demonstrated an ability to operate within the scheme.

There is another path Detroit could follow, as they could seek out a quarterback who didn't make their team's respective roster after final cuts. They faced a similar dilemma in 2022, when neither David Blough or Tim Boyle showed enough in the preseason to warrant being the backup.

In that instance, the Lions signed Nate Sudfeld who was cut by the San Francisco 49ers to serve as Goff's understudy.

Now, the Lions are in a similar predicament. With Goff expected to sit out in the preseason finale, the good news is Detroit will get a long look at both quarterbacks. Dobbs is the favorite amongst the group, but a strong showing from Altmyer could certainly change the organization's thinking.

Regardless, the competition for the backup spot is carrying plenty of intrigue into the final week of training camp, and it's set up for an exciting preseason finale.

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