Brad Holmes has some room to work with.
The Detroit Lions currently have two vacancies on their 53-man roster after waiving center Seth McLaughlin and running back Jabari Small on Wednesday, moves that trimmed Detroit’s active roster to 51 players.
The timing was intentional. Both players were injured around cutdown day, and Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network explained that keeping them through the initial roster deadline allowed Detroit to avoid the injury-settlement process that would have followed had they been waived while injured.
Now Holmes has options.
He does not have to fill those two openings immediately. But with Week 1 approaching and several areas of the roster still looking fluid, there are some obvious names worth monitoring.
Tom Kennedy
If we’re handicapping this thing, Tom Kennedy belongs at the top of the board.
Detroit surprisingly kept only four wide receivers on the initial roster: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa and Tay Martin.
Holmes acknowledged Wednesday that isn’t exactly a normal number.
“Four is obviously a little bit on the lighter side. That’s just where we’re at right now today, currently,” Holmes said. “But I do like the different flavors in that room.”
That word currently continues to stand out.
Holmes also went out of his way to mention Kennedy, who returned to Detroit’s practice squad after final cuts.
“He’s still part of our 69(-man roster) currently right now. He was able to add some special teams to his repertoire. He kind of did a little bit of that last year. But we all know the versatility that he has,” Holmes said during Wednesday’s press conference.
Kennedy’s special-teams value makes him particularly interesting because Detroit no longer has Greg Dortch, who had been viewed as one of the leading return candidates before his surprise release.
Holmes already hinted that Detroit’s four-man wide receiver room could still change, and Kennedy looks like the easiest internal move if the Lions decide four receivers simply isn’t enough.
He doesn’t necessarily need to be signed immediately. Detroit can elevate a practice-squad player for game day before eventually needing to place him on the active roster.
Still, Kennedy is the name I’d watch first.
Elijah Klein
The McLaughlin move created another question.
Detroit now has less insurance along the interior offensive line, particularly at center.
That’s where Elijah Klein becomes interesting.
The Lions signed Klein to the practice squad after Tampa Bay released him during final cuts. The former sixth-round pick has appeared in 26 NFL games and has taken preseason snaps at both guard positions, center and right tackle, giving Detroit another versatile option up front.
That versatility matters.
Detroit already has Juice Scruggs handling center duties while Cade Mays recovers from his wrist injury. McLaughlin had offered another option behind him.
Klein could now become the emergency interior-line insurance Detroit needs.
The Lions don’t have to promote him simply because McLaughlin is gone, but with two open roster spots, keeping an experienced and flexible offensive lineman close makes plenty of sense.
Nick Whiteside
Don’t forget Nick Whiteside.
Whiteside spent portions of training camp working with Detroit’s first-team defense and demonstrated enough versatility to take snaps at safety as well as cornerback.
He ultimately lost the roster battle and returned to the practice squad, but Detroit’s secondary remains one of the roster’s most unsettled areas.
Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are both starting the season on PUP. Detroit must get through at least four games without either one.
Whiteside already knows the defense, has experience in the system and can provide depth at more than one spot.
If another secondary injury pops up before Week 1, his name could move up this list quickly.
Joe Bachie
Another practice-squad veteran worth monitoring is Joe Bachie.
Detroit kept rookie Jimmy Rolder on the initial 53 despite the linebacker missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury.
Rolder’s long-term roster spot isn’t in question.
His Week 1 availability could be.
If Detroit wants another veteran linebacker and special-teams contributor available against New Orleans, Bachie provides a very straightforward solution.
He already knows Kelvin Sheppard’s defense, has extensive Lions experience and has been a core special-teams contributor during his time in Detroit.
This one could simply come down to Rolder’s health.
Kareem Hunt
And then there is the outside option.
Kareem Hunt remains impossible to completely dismiss.
Detroit brought the veteran running back to Allen Park for a visit on Aug. 25 while Isiah Pacheco was dealing with his knee injury.
Since then, the situation has changed considerably.
Pacheco developed a back issue, landed on injured reserve and now has no firm timetable for his return.
Even more concerning, when Holmes was asked whether Pacheco is still expected to play this season, he responded that “that’s the hope”.
That does not mean Hunt is headed to Detroit.
But it does mean the circumstances are considerably different than they were when the Lions first brought him in.
Jahmyr Gibbs remains the obvious centerpiece of the backfield, with Jacob Saylors and Sione Vaki behind him.
The Lions may be completely comfortable with that trio.
Still, Detroit has already evaluated Hunt, knows what he would bring to the roster and now has two openings available.
That is enough to keep his name in the conversation.
Holmes Has Options
The important thing here is that Detroit doesn’t have to make two moves simply because two roster spots are available.
Holmes can leave them open.
He can promote players from the practice squad.
He can wait for another team’s roster move to create an opportunity.
Or he can revisit a veteran Detroit has already evaluated.
The Lions spent the entire offseason preaching competition and flexibility, and those two open spots give Holmes exactly that.
Detroit got its final extended look at the roster during its preseason finale against Indianapolis.
Now the evaluations aren’t about who makes the initial 53.
They’re about how Holmes wants to finish building the roster that actually takes the field against New Orleans.
Tom Kennedy feels like the most obvious move.
After that?
Keep an eye on the transaction wire.
