It’s darn near August, which means all of the beat writers, bloggers, podcasters, sports radio hosts, fans, and even some trolls, are dropping their initial 2020 Detroit Lions initial 53-man roster projections. Yes, I got in on the action and if you want to take a peek, just click on the link below.
One writer who has released his initial 53-man roster prediction, and who I have a ton of respect for, is Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
Birkett released his initial prediction for the Lions 53-man roster on Friday and though we disagree on a couple of spots, not stood out to me more than what I believe is Dave’s boldest prediction.
That prediction is that the long snapper gig will go to to a man not named Don Muhlbach for the first time since some of you were still in elementary school.
Birkett says he is going with a hunch that the long snapper job will go to Steven Wirtel, who was the best available long snapper coming out of college this year.
“By keeping all 90 players on their roster for now, the Lions can cram a long-snapper competition into the next two weeks. Admittedly, the odds favor Don Muhlbach in that battle, but I’m playing a hunch here. Muhlbach turns 39 next month, is returning from offseason surgery and Wirtel was the best long snapper in the draft and someone the Lions got to see up close at the Senior Bowl.”
Personally, I have Muhlbach on my initial 53-man roster but Birkett brings up a great point that The Muhl is coming off an offseason surgery, and with COVID-19 being a problem, is it really worth playing another season?
Time will tell.
