The curtain has closed on the Detroit Lions’ 2025 preseason, but the drama is far from over.
Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes, and the rest of the staff have some difficult decisions ahead of them. Roster cuts will begin to roll in within the coming days, and the tape put forth in these preseason games will be instrumental to deciding who does or does not make the initial 53-man roster. Unfortunately for the coaches, the Lions’ loss to the Houston Texans in the preseason finale left much to be desired. Detroit
fell 26-7 in a game where the offense sputtered and the defense failed to make a mark.
Which players helped or hurt their roster chances before the regular season?
Kyle Allen elevates the offense
The backup quarterback battle was essentially over last week, but Allen firmly crushed any slivers of doubt against the Texans. Allen was a perfect 5-for-5 in his limited appearance, totaling 66 yards and a beautifully thrown touchdown pass to Isaac TeSlaa. Over the previous three preseason games (a little over five quarters of play), Allen has gone 26-for-30 for 310 yards and five touchdowns—that is as perfect as you can get in preseason.
The turnaround from Allen since looking shellshocked against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game has been staggering. Looking at the recent history of backup quarterbacks, how many of them have put together genuinely impressive preseasons? When a backup quarterback struggles, it hurts the evaluation of the entire offense. Allen’s success has made it possible to actually evaluate the wide receiver depth during live-game reps, as shown by breakouts from TeSlaa and undrafted rookie Jackson Meeks. Allen has been a winner this preseason, but so too has the entire offense as a result.
Linebacker depth looks great
After being gutted last season, the Lions are putting together quite the committee of talented linebackers. The starters are set in stone (Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone, and Derrick Barnes) and Malcolm Rodriguez will continue to rehab from his injury. However, the remaining names on the depth chart have impressed in preseason. Offseason signings Grant Stuard and Zach Cunningham have been stout thus far. Stuard looks fierce and incredibly quick, and not just as a kick returner. Cunningham has been downright dominant in run defense, silencing many rushing attempts throughout preseason.
Trevor Nowaske might not see the field as a defender this season, but he has quietly put together a solid preseason. Nowaske has played early and often, highlighting his versatility. He has played SAM linebacker with the top reserves (Stuard and Cunningham). When the duo has substituted out, it has been Nowaske taking over as the green-dot leader of the defense. The best way to describe his play is “looking for someone to hit.” Nowaske blew up a screen pass to running back Jawhar Jordan after reading the play perfectly. He has been decisive in run defense and looks much improved in coverage. He has demonstrated a nose for the football, often being in the immediate vicinity or making the tackle outright.
The Lions suddenly have a stable of linebackers that I would feel confident having on the field.
Strickland strikes back
Speaking of players playing with their hair on fire, Loren Strickland chose a perfect time to have his best game. Strickland was all over the field for the Lions. He was playing deep safety, including making a great diving tackle on receiver Quintez Cephus. He was playing around the line of scrimmage, including blowing up a running back toss for a massive loss. On a third down play midway through the third quarter, Strickland planted Harrison Bryant in the open field, driving the tight end into the ground for a stop.
Strickland has been directly competing with Ian Kennelly for a safety spot and indirectly competing with a multitude of players for a final roster spot. This type of electric playstyle will stand out when roster cuts happen in the coming days.
Cornerback depth remains a question mark
What are the Lions going to do at cornerback?
Whiteside’s stock had been rising in recent weeks, but his preseason finale left much to be desired. He allowed at least three receptions (by my count) and struggled to maintain the blanket coverage that we had seen in recent weeks. He was outran on a crossing route by rookie Jayden Higgins despite reading the play off the snap—he simply could not keep up.
The cornerbacks as a whole struggled on the day, with only Tyson Russell’s weird interception standing out. The unit failed to generate a single pass breakup, a sharp contrast to last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins in which they recorded 10. Whiteside was the leader of the pack entering this game, but after a mediocre outing from everyone, it will be difficult to parse who should make the team as CB6—if there even is one.
It’s time to end the Hendon Hooker experiment
After Allen’s lights-out performances in recent weeks, it was no longer Allen versus Hooker for the backup spot. Instead, Hooker was fighting to justify a third quarterback spot (or perhaps boost his value on the waiver wire).
Hooker played three quarters on Saturday, and it was more of the same: no offensive momentum. He had a great 30-yard toss that was unfortunately called back on an offensive holding penalty. From then onward, the struggles that plagued his previous weeks persisted. He threw a brutal interception that was either an overthrow or misread of Dominic Lovett’s route—this was on the heels of Russell’s interception and set up the Texans for an easy touchdown drive.
Hooker did add a stellar 25-yard scramble, but he needed to demonstrate more than a rushing ability. His mobility is a known commodity and an asset, sure, but if he wants to claim a quarterback job in the NFL, it cannot be his only calling card. He needs to be able to throw accurately from the pocket, and we simply have not seen that in a significant capacity. With Hooker at quarterback—approximately nine quarters of preseason football—the Lions have mustered just three points, a field goal drive that came on a muffed Miami Dolphins punt. He has a five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) and zero touchdowns. That is not acceptable for a backup quarterback regardless of the players around him, plain and simple.
In my mind, the Lions have an easy decision: Hooker should not be on the 53-man roster. However, his play has been so disappointing that I am not even worried about subjecting him to waivers. If he gets claimed, so what? The Lions will need a new developmental quarterback next year anyway, Hooker has not demonstrated enough growth to continue this lackluster project.
Poor quarterbacking hurts Jackson Meeks
Whereas Allen’s stellar quarterbacking has helped TeSlaa stand out, the opposite occurred for Meeks with Hooker at the helm. After leading the team in receiving yards through the first three preseason games, he was blanked against the Texans. Meeks saw just one target on the day, failing to connect on the pass from Hooker.
Meeks is fighting for the sixth (and potentially seventh) receiver spot with Dominic Lovett. Neither rookie accomplished anything on offense against the Texans (Lovett had two targets and zero receptions), so this is more of a stock neutral for the receiving room. The reason I highlighted Meeks is the depth chart ahead of him.
Lovett is the heir apparent to Kalif Raymond as a shifty slot option with special teams prowess. Meeks, however, is an outside receiver like TeSlaa. Whereas TeSlaa is the eventual replacement for Tim Patrick, Meeks’ inside and outside versatility leaves him with a less defined role to grow into. Best case scenario, he slots into TeSlaa’s role when the third-round rookie becomes WR3. With Khalil Dorsey being activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list, Meeks is not a favorite to start at gunner either.
Meeks has been so outstanding this preseason that the Lions have to legitimately worry about losing him on waivers. I think the Lions were hoping for another highlight performance to lock him into the roster and make it an easy decision to keep him. Instead, they have a tough choice to make.
Losing the edge battle?
The Lions have a trio of defensive ends on the roster bubble, yet we have only been hearing about Nate Lynn and Isaac Ukwu. The third member of that group is Mitchell Agude, and he has been falling further behind in the position battle.
Agude has not demonstrated the same pass rushing acumen as Lynn and Ukwu (each with a sack in preseason) and his run defense has not made up for that discrepancy either. Agude got washed out by tight end Harrison Bryant—acquired by Houston less than a week ago—on a long run by Dare Ogunbowale. Getting to the quarterback is one thing—something Agude has not been doing consistently—but failing to hold the edge on a run play is a death sentence in this Lions defense. It is a similar reason why James Houston did not pan out in Detroit: the Lions do not value situational pass rushers highly.
With Lynn and Ukwu outperforming Agude, not only is he a longshot to make the 53-man roster, but his chances of making the practice squad have taken a hit as well. If Lynn and/or Ukwu fail to make the roster, they will be shoe-ins to make the practice squad ahead of Agude. Would the Lions want to keep that many developmental pass rushers with similar skill sets?
