The Lions have filled one of the openings on their active roster. They announced that they have signed linebacker Joe Bachie off of their practice squad. Bachie spent the offseason and preseason with the team and signed to the practice squad after failing to make the initial 53-man roster in Detroit. Bachie opened last season with the Colts and started five games before landing on injured reserve. He moved on to the Titans after being released and played in 10 more games on special teams. He finished the year with 29 tackles and had 48 tackles in 51 games for the Bengals and Eagles earlier in his career. The Lions still have one open spot on the 53-man roster after waiving center Seth McLaughlin and running back Jabari Small last week. They announced that both those players have been signed to the practice squad on Monday
The Lions created a pair of openings on their 53-man roster on Wednesday. They announced that they have waived running back Jabari Small and center Seth McLaughlin. Small’s departure comes after Isiah Pacheco was placed on injured reserve and leaves the team with Jahmyr Gibbs, Jacob Saylors, and Sione Vaki at running back. Small signed with the Titans after going undrafted in 2024 and spent time on Detroit’s practice squad last year, but has never appeared in a regular season game. McLaughlin was behind Juice Scruggs on the team’s offensive line depth chart. He spent last season on the Bengals’ practice squad. The Lions could look to bolster their receiving corps with one of the open spots. They currently have four players at that position
The Detroit Lions announced on Tuesday that they placed running back Isiah Pacheco (back) on Injured Reserve. Pacheco will now have to wait until at least Week 5 to make his Lions debut in 2026. The 27-year-old also missed time in training camp this summer with a sprained MCL in his knee, so the injury issues that plagued his final two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024 and 2025 have followed him to Detroit. Pacheco was not expected to see much volume behind three-down workhorse Jahmyr Gibbs, but his fantasy appeal as a late-round handcuff now takes another hit. In Pacheco's absence, Sione Vaki is expected to serve as Detroit's RB2, with Jacob Saylors and Jabari Small fighting for expanded roles as well. Pacheco had a combined 1,765 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in his first two years in KC, adding 57 receptions for 374 yards and another two scores as a receiver. However, he managed to play in only 20 games over the last two seasons and produced 772 rushing yards and only two rushing TDs on 201 carries in the last two years
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been rolling out my annual Detroit Lions training camp preview articles, highlighting the camp battles and questions surrounding each position group. With the series coming to its conclusion, and training camp just days away from starting, now is the ideal time for me to share my perspective on the team’s 90-man roster. While there is still a ton to be settled with this roster over the next month, this 53-man roster projection is how I believe the Lions would enter the regular season if it started tomorrow. As training camp and the preseason progress, I’ll be updating my projection as the Lions get closer to NFL cutdowns on August 30. But for now, here’s how I see the roster ahead of training camp. QB Jared Goff QB Teddy Bridgewater QB Luke Altmyer Training camp preview: Can Luke Altmyer force a QB3 role? Altmyer has a steep hill to climb in order to crack the 53-man roster; he’ll either need to jump Bridgewater on the depth chart or convince coaches to keep a QB3 on a loaded roster where spots are at a premium. For now, I’m staying chalk and sticking with the two expected quarterbacks. RB Jahmyr Gibbs RB Isiah Pacheco RB Sione Vaki RB Jacob Saylors RB Kye Robichaux RB Jabari Small Training camp preview: How RB roles could shift in 2026 Gibbs is expected to expand his RB1 role this season, which opens the door for Pacheco to take on some special teams duties and could result in fewer running backs needed. However, running backs fit a unique role that special teams coordinator Dave Fipp prefers; therefore, I am expecting the Lions to stick with four backs. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown WR Jameson Williams WR Isaac TeSlaa WR Greg Dortch WR Dominic Lovett WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. WR Jackson Meeks WR Tom Kennedy WR Tay Martin WR Lawrence Keys WR Lucky Jackson WR Tarik Black WR Malik Cunningham IR (season-ending): Kendrick Law Training camp preview: WR depth roles up for grabs On the surface, sticking with only five receivers goes a bit against the norm, but when you explore their usage—especially on game days—it lines up more than you might think. After the first four in this section, I have a lot of questions, but I’m not sure the Lions are ready to give up on Lovett just yet, so I went with him as WR5. Can Wilson, Meeks , or Kennedy convince me to keep a sixth? I’m open to the possibility. TE Sam LaPorta TE Brock Wright TE Tyler Conklin TE Miles Kitselman TE Zach Horton TE Thomas Gordon Training camp preview: How many TEs will make the roster? Despite Conklin starting training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list , I am still expecting him to slide into the Lions’ TE3 role. His absence will open the door for Kitselman, and the more time Conklin is out, the more time the rookie has to impress. These circumstances could result in a switch at TE3 or maybe even the Lions considering keeping a TE4. For now, I’m sticking with the most common expectations. OT Blake Miller OT Penei Sewell OT Larry Borom OT Giovanni Manu OT Devin Cochran Training camp preview: Can Blake Miller win the starting RT job? During coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes’ time in Detroit, the Lions have started the season with only three offensive tackles on their roster, except for 2024, when Manu was a rookie whom they were developing. Now entering year three, Manu’s development is at a crossroads: prove you can earn a spot as a reliable offensive lineman, or we’ll take the risk you pass through waivers and will place you on the practice squad. RG Tate Ratledge LG Christian Mahogany C Cade Mays G Ben Bartch G/T Miles Frazier C/G Juice Scruggs C Seth McLaughlin G/T Colby Sorsdal C/G Michael Niese G Melvin Priestly G/T Mason Miller Training camp preview: How quickly will Cade Mays adapt to scheme? The Lions spent the offseason prioritizing upgrading and deepening the interior offensive line. They’ve developed their youth, spent money at center, traded for depth, and sought out a veteran for competi
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With training camp just days away, it’s time to start our Bubble Watch series. For those new to the site, every week during training camp and the preseason, our staff of 11 voters will make their predictions for every player we believe is currently on the roster bubble. We’ll both list out a chart of all of our votes, and break down all of the training camp battles and trends for each player. We kick off the series by predicting the fate of 15 different players who I picked as entering training camp on the roster bubble. Below are our predictions, and under that is a more detailed breakdown of each position battle. View Link Assumed in: Jared Goff , Teddy Bridgewater Luke Altmyer: 1 “IN” vote For now, I believe Detroit’s top two quarterback positions are set. That could certainly change if Teddy Bridgewater struggles this preseason, but I think the Lions value his mentorship abilities too much to put him on the bubble. That leaves the conversation as to whether undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer can justify a spot on Detroit’s 53-man roster as QB3. Entering camp, only one staffer—Brett Whitefield—has him in. Assumed in: Jahmyr Gibbs , Isiah Pacheco , Sione Vaki Jacob Saylors : 9 “IN” votes Again, some may take issue with Sione Vaki being an assumed in, but he’s arguably Detroit’s best special team player, and I don’t see the team departing with him. As of now, it really feels like only Jacob Saylors could justify keeping a fourth running back after a strong special teams outing in 2025. But if Kye Robichaux or Jabari Small show out in the preseason, they could work their way onto the bubble. Assumed in: Amon-Ra St. Brown , Jameson Williams , Isaac TeSlaa , Greg Dortch Cedrick Wilson Jr. : 8 “IN” votes Dominic Lovett : 8 votes Tom Kennedy: 1 vote Jackson Meeks : 0 votes Detroit’s 1-4 receivers feel pretty set for the time being, and most of our staff has the Lions keeping two others: veteran Cedrick Wilson Jr. and second-year wideout Dominic Lovett. But a few staffers had Detroit only keeping five receivers, and Tom Kennedy snuck in a vote after some surprise special team contributions last year. I found it mildly surprising that Jackson Meeks didn’t receive a vote, but he also still feels like a bit of a project as he continues to work at both tight end and wideout. Assumed in: Sam LaPorta , Brock Wright Tyler Conklin : 11 “IN” votes Miles Kitselman: 1 vote Zach Horton: 0 votes It should be noted that most Pride of Detroit staffers made their predictions before Conklin was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start training cam p . However, we still don’t know the severity of the injury he suffered during spring practices, so it’s still very possible he wins the TE3 spot. That said, undrafted rookie Miles Kitselman—one of Detroit’s most praised UDFA signings—also managed to get in a vote. And if Conklin sits for an extended amount of practices, don’t be surprised if Kitselman, Meeks, or Horton start to get some hype. Assumed in: Penei Sewell , Blake Miller, Larry Borom Giovanni Manu: 3 votes Colby Sorsdal : 0 votes Is this the end of the line for Giovanni Manu? Just about three-fourths of our staff believe so. With the addition of Larry Borom as the clear preferred OT3, Manu will have to show enough growth to justify keeping a fourth offensive tackle. As of right now, the staff isn’t buying it. Assumed in: Tate Ratledge , Cade Mays , Christian Mahogany , Miles Frazier Ben Bartch : 11 votes Juice Scruggs : 11 votes Seth McLaughlin : 0 votes Michael Niese : 0 votes Even though the starting left guard position is up for grabs and there’s a lot of new competition among Detroit’s interior offensive line depth, the entire staff is unanimous agreement about the roster spots filled by this group. Ben Bartch will challenge for the starting left guard position—and should, at worst, be an upgrade of Michael Niese. Meanwhile, Juice Scruggs enters camp as the heavy favorite to win the backup center [... truncated ...]
We’re just over a week away from the Detroit Lions opening training camp for the 2026 season. With that in mind, I figured now was a good time to give my own perspective on the team’s 90-man roster and what it may look like after the dust of camp and the preseason has settled. Obviously, the outlook of this projection will change over the next month as the players jockey for spots. But here’s how I believe the roster stands before the players take the field. QB Jared Goff QB Teddy Bridgewater QB Luke Altmyer I am not counting out rookie UDFA Luke Altmyer winning a roster spot by the end of training camp, but the much more likely scenario is that he sticks around on the practice squad to continue his development. But if he balls out in the preseason, it could produce an interesting conversation. RB Jahmyr Gibbs RB Isiah Pacheco RB Sione Vaki RB Jacob Saylors RB Kye Robichaux RB Jabari Small Gibbs through Vaki are essentially locks to me. The question is whether Detroit should carry a fourth running back. Generally, they do , and when the Lions chose Saylors over Craig Reynolds last season, I think it was a revelation of how much they value his special teams. TE Sam LaPorta TE Brock Wright TE Tyler Conklin TE Zach Horton TE Thomas Gordon TE Miles Kitselman The Lions have recently only kept three tight ends on their roster, but I do wonder if last year’s depleted depth will make them reconsider in 2026. It’s hard for me to pick between Horton, Gordon, and Kitselman with little observations on each. If Drew Petzing plans on running more 13 personnel in Detroit, the Lions would almost certainly keep a fourth. However, they also invested highly in their wide receiver group, so I’m not convinced 13 personnel is coming to Detroit. Therefore, I’m keeping three tight ends for now. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown WR Jameson Williams WR Isaac TeSlaa WR Greg Dortch WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. WR Dominic Lovett WR Jackson Meeks WR Tom Kennedy WR Tay Martin WR Lawrence Keys WR Lucky Jackson WR Tarik Black WR Malik Cunningham When I made my initial picks for the 53-man roster, I was only at 52 players with Dominic Lovett out. He’s thus far underwhelmed as both a receiver (too many drops) and special teams (just 50 snaps his rookie season). However, Detroit invested in him, and he could see a Year 2 jump. I very much considered Jackson Meeks here, especially considering I went light at tight end, but I still think he is a work in progress at both WR and TE. OT Blake Miller OT Penei Sewell OT Larry Borom OT Giovanni Manu OT Devin Cochran Giovanni Manu was also one of my last players in. Admittedly, he may spend most weeks as an inactive in this role, but I do think Detroit would be willing to give him one more year to develop. After all, Larry Borom is only on a one-year deal. I’m still giving Manu a shot to become the OT3 of the future, even if if the door to a starting offensive tackle job is closed for him. iOL Christian Mahogany iOL Cade Mays iOL Tate Ratledge iOL Ben Bartch iOL Miles Frazier iOL Juice Scruggs i OL Seth McLaughlin iOL Melvin Priestly iOL Michael Niese iOL Mason Miller OL Colby Sorsdal I do like the depth here, and I think the Lions would be wise to keep as many of these players as they can. Barch and Scruggs are two experienced players who provide solide depth. Frazier will not only compete for the starting left guard spot, but he brings tackle versatility and has plenty of potential entering his first training camp (after missing all of last year’s practices). I’m not sure anyone else on the depth chart can realistically challenge for a starting position, but I am admittedly intrigued by Seth McLaughlin . It’s just hard to see him winning the backup center job after Detroit traded for Scruggs. EDGE Aidan Hutchinson EDGE DJ Wonnum EDGE Derrick Moore EDGE Ahmed Hassanein EDGE Payton Turner EDGE Anthony Lucas EDGE Eric O’Neill Three edge defenders sounds like a small amount, and I would have loved to find a place for Ahmed Has
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As one of the lucky few who get to watch Detroit Lions minicamp, I try my best to paint of picture of each practice via our daily observations recaps , and our Pride of Detroit Direct exclusive video podcasts . But as much as I try to report the most relevant news and biggest plays, nothing compares to actually watching the plays themselves. Lucky for you, the Lions provided a highlight reel of both minicamp practices this week. Below you can watch the highlights of the best plays on both sides of the ball. Under the video, I’ll try to provide as much context to each play as my memory allows. Here’s the video: Play 1: Jimmy Rolder interception During a 7-on-7 drill, Lions rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder dropped into a deep zone and high-pointed the pass thrown by Teddy Bridgewater . Here’s what Rolder had to say about the play: “Just dropping into my zone, reading the quarterback, made a play on the ball. That’s pretty much it,” Rolder said. Simple enough. Play 2: Trevor Nowaske PBU This was during a full 11-on-11 segment. On a pass from Luke Altmyer, Nowaske, too, dropped into a deep zone coverage and got his fingertips on the ball. The pass was intended for Malik Cunningham , who was open if Altmyer had gotten the ball over Nowaske. Play 3: Aamaris Brown INT Bridgewater’s first few looks weren’t open, so he progressed to his third read and hesitated, allowing Brown to close in on running back Jabari Small. Brown’s contact was early, potentially drawing a penalty, but kudos to him for playing through the contract, finding the ball, and taking it the other way. Play 4: Jackson Meeks touchdown This play came on Day 2 of Lions minicamp during the situational drill at the end of practice . You can see with a brief shot of the scoreboard that the offense was down 33-24 with 37 seconds left on a third-and-10 from the 12-yard line. Meeks did a good job creating late separation from linebacker Damone Clark and high-pointed the ball while getting both feet in for the score. Play 5: Tom Kennedy touchdown During 11-on-11s for Day 1 of minicamp, Altmyer floated a great ball to Tom Kennedy on the quarterback’s very first play. Roger McCreary was a step late in coverage, and Kennedy ran with it for a 50+ yard touchdown. Play 6: Jared Goff to Isaac TeSlaa This happened during 7-on-7s on Day 1 of minicamp. TeSlaa’s late break on his post gave him plenty of separation from Ennis Rakestraw , and Goff delivered a perfect ball before safety help arrived. Play 7: Amon-Ra St. Brown TD This was another play from the end-of-game scenario from Day 2 of Lions minicamp. St. Brown ran a beautiful route at the back of the end zone, gaining multiple steps on D.J. Reed , and finding the end zone with 35 seconds left. Everything else in the video came from individual drills
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