After the Detroit Lions Thursday night preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, T.J. Jones sat with the rest of the starters on the sideline. It appeared that Jones had the night off to rest him for the regular season, but that wasn’t the case.
GM Bob Quinn has to shave down his roster to 53-players by 4pm this afternoon. First to go was C Gabe Ikard last night. This morning it was the surprise release of Jones. Jones was a sixth-round pick a couple years ago out of Notre Dame. He missed his entire rookie season due to nerve damage in his shoulder. Last year, he took over the third receiver role along with punt return duties and was expected to continue this season.
Jace Billingsley, TJ Jones(!) among first wave of cuts by Lions https://t.co/MN4EDiAG67 pic.twitter.com/Xt9cBsuhZw
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) September 3, 2016
The Anquan Boldin acquisition pushed him further down the ranks and ultimately put the nail in the coffin. On the returner depth chart, new blood once again made Jones expendable. When given the opportunity this preseason, Jones was constantly outplayed by the likes of Jace Billingsley, Jay Lee, and Andre Roberts.
Jones finished the preseason with a total of 63 offensive snaps, four catches for 54 yards.
With the departure of Jones, it gave many Jace Billingsley fans a sense of hope that he could end up on the team. Reports are he is also receiving a pink slip.
The Lions have waived Jace Billingsley.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) September 3, 2016
So far, Andre Roberts and Jay Lee look to have the last two receiver spots– unless Quinn has another trick up his sleeve. There are rumors that the Lions may even roll with a total of four wideouts to start the season. A rather unorthodox approach in the pass-happy NFL.
I've heard rumblings Lions might just be rolling with 4 WRs on initial 53. I haven't been able to confirm, but could be related to Bostic IR
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) September 3, 2016
More to come soon….
