The Detroit Lions have some big roster decisions to make in the upcoming weeks. Roster cutdown day is less than two weeks away, and time is running out to evaluate their players.
On offense, Detroit has a conundrum at quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater’s retirement. But it’s a good conundrum, because both Luke Altmyer and Josh Dobbs were able to move the ball pretty well in the preseason opener.
They apparently have a good problem at wide receiver, too. While there haven’t been any clear standouts
beyond the top four players at that position, coach Dan Campbell believes that’s the deepest receiver group he’s ever been around in Detroit.
“That receiver room, this is the best receiver room we’ve had since I’ve been here in camp, top to bottom,” Campbell said. “I mean, those guys are gifted. It’s a really good crew, man. And they’re all pretty tough, they’re all a little bit different the way they’re built. And every one of those guys has flashed on one day or another, has done something pretty damn good. So man, honestly, this thing’s up for grabs.”
Let’s dive into each of those position battles on offense, as our staff makes their updated 2026 Detroit Lions roster bubble predictions:
Quarterback:
- Assumed in: Jared Goff
- Josh Dobbs: 9 “IN votes (no change)
- Luke Altmyer: 3 votes (down 1)
The backup quarterback job is heating up, but our staff still believes the Lions will go with the vetrean option. Altmyer had a strong preseason opener, but so did Dobbs—and Detroit opted to get him some time with the starters despite only joining the team a few days earlier.
I’m a bit surprised that only one staffer opted to keep both quarterbacks, but I know there are some other positions that may warrant that roster spot over a QB3.
Running back:
- Assumed in: Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco
- Sione Vaki: 11 votes (no change)
- Jacob Saylors: 11 votes (up 2)
- Jabari Small: 0 votes
Last week, we downgraded Vaki to the roster bubble because of his injury, but now that he has returned, he’s basically a lock. Coach Dan Campbell essentially referred to him as RB3 when talking about how Saylors and Smalls were fighting for that fourth spot.
Saylors takes a jump in our votes after a strong preseason outing, while Small sat for injury. However, things could swap in a hurry now, because Small is back on the field, while Saylors is a nursing an ankle injury. Remember, Campbell called this RB4 battle neck-and-neck last week.
“I feel like those two guys are just jockeying with each other right now. One guy’s a little bit ahead. The next day, the other guy’s a little bit ahead.”
Wide receiver:
- Assumed in: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Greg Dortch
- Cedrick Wilson Jr.: 8 “IN” votes (up 1)
- New to bubble watch: Tay Martin: 4 votes
- Dominic Lovett: 3 votes (down 3)
- Tom Kennedy: 0 vote (no change)
Tay Martin got an unprompted shout out by Dan Campbell, praising the former UFL receiver’s special teams skills. Since then, he’s been repping high on both special teams and offense. On Sunday, with Jameson Williams sidelined, Martin got some work with the first-team offense, suggesting he has truly climbed the depth chart. Three staffers have picked him as the team’s WR5, while another has Detroit keeping both Martin and Wilson.
Most of Martin’s votes come at the expense of Lovett, who only caught three of his eight targets on Thursday night, had a couple of drops, and muffed a punt. He’s still flashing his separation skills and special teams potential, but there’s been too much bad with the good.
Tight end:
- Assumed in: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright
- OFF BUBBLE WATCH: Miles Kitselman (IR), Anthony Firkser (IR)
- Tyler Conklin: 11 “IN” votes (no change)
- Jackson Meeks: 2 votes (down 3)
- Thomas Gordon: 0 votes (no change)
Meeks has had a bit of a quiet week, and as a result, our staffers are becoming less and less convinced Detroit will keep a fourth tight end.
Personally speaking, Meeks was quite literally my last player out. I ultimately chose to keep an extra corner over Meeks, but it is not an easy decision right now. It’s entirely possible, though, Meeks could clear waivers (as he did last year) and come back on the practice squad.
Offensive tackle:
- Assumed in: Penei Sewell, Blake Miller, Larry Borom
- Colby Sorsdal: 0 votes (no change)
- Devin Cochran: 0 votes (no change)
Nothing changing here. Sorsdal continues to mostly rep with the third team, while Cochran has only recently been making his way back from injury.
Interior offensive line:
- Assumed in: Tate Ratledge, Christian Mahogany, Miles Frazier
- NEW — Assumed on IR: Cade Mays
- Ben Bartch: 11 votes (no change)
- Juice Scruggs: 11 votes (up 0)
- Seth McLaughlin: 11 votes (up 11)
- Michael Niese: 0 votes
Pretty simple adjustment here. With Cade Mays likely to start the season on injured reserve, all of his votes went straight to Seth McLaughlin, who now projects to be the team’s backup center behind Juice Scruggs.
Of course, things could shift a bit depending on how the starting center job plays out. While Scruggs is the heavy favorite to win the job, the Lions appear to also be toying with the idea of playing Ratledge at center. If he were to somehow win the job, it would lessen the need for a third center behind Scruggs and jeopardize McLaughlin’s position. If the Lions are thinking about keeping only eight offensive linemen, that would be the route to take. For now, the entire staff has them keeping the exact same nine: Sewell, Miller, Borom, Ratledge, Mahogany, Frazier, Bartch, Scruggs, McLaughlin.
One more thing to keep in mind: while he’s still very young and capable of playing multiple spots, Miles Frazier had a very tough preseason debut. If he struggles again in Saturday’s game against the Commanders, he could fall down to the bubble.
