DETROIT –- The Detroit Lions face some tough choices at wide receiver ahead of Tuesday’s roster cut deadline.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, Kalif Raymond, and rookie hometown favorite Isaac TeSlaa are secure. But whether the Lions keep six -- or even seven -- receivers makes things more complicated.
Dominic Lovett, a seventh-round pick, looked like a lock early in camp because of his special teams value. While still a candidate to make the Lions’ final roster, his lack of production could see the team release him and then re-sign him to the practice squad.
However, undrafted rookie Jackson Meeks has made a strong case with consistent play through camp and preseason. Even with limited targets in Saturday’s loss to Houston, he may have earned a sixth spot.
“Man, I can’t really give you an answer on that,” Meeks told MLive when asked if he deserves to make the roster. “I feel like I went out there and put good football on tape, and that’s all I can do. Blocking, the special teams -- just whatever my job is when I’m out there. That’s all I can do, you know what I’m saying?”
Meeks finished the preseason with 11 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, showing chemistry with backup Kyle Allen and an ability to deliver when called on.
Having played at Georgia and Syracuse, Meeks said the NFL transition came down to details.
“It’s just the small details -- the splits, the depths, the stems -- just the small stuff you really got to lock in on that makes the NFL the NFL,” Meeks said.
While Meeks has momentum, Ronnie Bell’s path is less clear. The former Michigan standout and third-year receiver faces a numbers crunch. Carrying seven receivers was always unlikely, leaving Bell a likely practice-squad candidate.
Still, Bell left camp feeling satisfied.
“I’m proud of myself, man. I think camp went well,” Bell told MLive. “Just like you said, the competition means there’s a lot of depth, which means there’s a lot of reps, which means you got to spread out the reps, and you just got to get it when you can. I think that was probably the toughest part, not knowing when you were going to get into the rep or whatnot. But I’m proud of myself with the way I handled that, approached that, and went about it throughout this whole camp.”
Bell caught six of seven targets for 62 yards in three games. He admitted the lack of opportunities was challenging, but tried to stay grounded.
“I try to tell myself -- and I don’t know if it’s the best way to do it -- but I think it worked for me, man. Just put your head down and look up at the end. So now we’re at the end of camp, and I feel like I put my best foot forward, and it’s not up to me. That’s all I could control, though -- how I approached every day, how I approached the reps that I got. You can’t really think about all the decisions and the cut and this, this, and that. There’s nothing I can really do about that besides where my feet are right now. So just put your head down and look up at the end.”
By Tuesday at 4 p.m., all NFL teams must trim rosters to 53 players ahead of the new season.
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