NFL preseason is always a mixed bag, as teams dive into their depth chart to see which players will step up in the spotlight.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Detroit Lions had a fair number of good showings, but there are two sides to every coin and many players saw their roster chances take a hit. Whether due to a bad performance themselves or a good performance from their peers, there are some players on this Lions roster that walked away from Thursday night with more questions than answers.
Will they be able to fight for a roster spot in the coming weeks?
Previously: 5 Lions who helped their roster chances vs. Bengals
Michael Niese, C
While I was not overly impressed with Seth McLaughlin (who had partial responsibility for a sack allowed), it was unfortunately Niese that caught my attention for the wrong reason. Though he had a good block to spring Raheem Blackshear on a 24-yard run, I am concerned about him at center. He skipped a snap off the turf, resulting in a 5-yard loss, while another poor snap was salvaged by Luke Altmyer. The game-day conditions were wet, but a center needs to corral the football better. Am I picking on a player for two bad snaps? Perhaps, but as a center, that’s your primary responsibility.
Last season, Niese stepped in mid-game at center, then promptly delivered a poor snap that ended up as a safety—that would end up being his last offensive snap of 2025. If Niese wants to make the roster (a realistic goal given the injuries to Cade Mays and Juice Scruggs), he needs to clean up all aspects of being a center.
Dominic Lovett, WR
Lovett tied for the team lead in receiving with three catches for 28 yards, but he left a lot to be desired. His three receptions came on a team-high eight targets, but the second-year receiver failed to haul in more than half of them, two of which were dropped. He was largely unimpactful on special teams as well, bobbling one of his two punt returns. Lovett is competing for both a wide receiver role and a special teams role, and given the competition at both, he needs to separate himself from the pack to justify a roster spot. To Lovett’s benefit, however, none of the other receivers stood out on Thursday either.
Luke Altmyer, QB
This is a complicated tape to judge because, in general, I was actually encouraged by Altmyer’s performance. I think he moved the ball downfield with some authority and had a fair number of excellent passes—his best came on a 23-yard dart to Cedrick Wilson. He had some poise in the pocket, and of his two interceptions, one was a drop by Isaac TeSlaa and the other was a hero ball in the dying seconds of the game (although still an off-target throw).
However, this was perhaps Altmyer’s best opportunity to stake his claim ahead of Joshua Dobbs on the depth chart, and that did not happen. Neither quarterback dominated (Altmyer finished 13-of-22 with 130 yards, a touchdown, and the two picks, while Dobbs went 4-for-8 for 32 yards), but because Dobbs is a recent signee, expectations for him were modest—he only received the playbook a few days ago.
Sure, Altmyer is an undrafted rookie, but a great performance could have solidified him as the guy to beat. Now, entering the next preseason game, Dobbs will have another week of practice under his belt to familiarize himself with the offense, meaning Altmyer will have lost his advantage over the veteran. At this point, I think both quarterbacks will be on equal footing, and this battle could shift on a weekly basis. Altmyer can still win this job, but he came up a bit short in his first opportunity.
Miles Frazier, OL
Entering this week, Frazier was an unquestioned roster lock in my eyes. However, his performance against the Bengals made me think twice about how safe his roster spot truly is—if it was at 99 percent before, my confidence now might be somewhere around 90 percent, as in still a good bet to make the roster but perhaps worthy of including on Bubble Watch next week.
Frazier was dinged for three holding penalties in the game, a frustrating showing for the young lineman. In his first game of 2025, Frazier was penalized twice for false starts, only seeing a handful of snaps the rest of the season. Is it still a recurring trend, or is his small sample size skewing the results? Only time will tell.
As a guard with the first team, Frazier was fine, though he was overshadowed by the likes of Christian Mahogany and Blake Miller. Later in the game, he subbed in at left tackle, flexing his positional versatility. However, he also showcased his rawness, getting beat badly on a sack. I think his ability to play across the offensive line makes him valuable, but we need to see some good offensive line play—after all, it doesn’t matter if you play every spot poorly.
Payton Turner, DE
I would normally argue that it isn’t fair to ding a player for not playing in a game, but the clock is ticking for Turner to show that he deserves a roster spot—he needs these snaps. Working against the injured Turner is that the front seven played fairly well against the Bengals, meaning a fair number of defensive linemen competing for his roster spot got a stock-up on Thursday. Ahmed Hassanein, perhaps his biggest competition, was outstanding. Eric O’Neill stood out often. Skyler Gill-Howard looked formidable as a pass rusher. Chris Smith and Myles Adams had some nice run stuffs. Even the likes of Ben Stille and Anthony Lucas had some moments.
The fact remains that the Lions have a lot of roster-worthy players along their defensive line, yet very few roster spots are available. Turner needs to get on the field soon, or else he will get outpaced by his competition as they put up good tape.
