The Detroit Lions opened training camp this week with a few transactional moves taking place. Notably, four players were added to the non-football injury list on Wednesday.
Detroit placed Cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Carlton Davis, as well as Wide Receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tre’Quan Smith on the Active/Non-Football Injury list Wednesday. When placed on the non-football injury list, if the player remains on the team’s roster throughout training camp, will be forced to sit out four games. They also don’t count against the NFL’s 53-man roster limit.
Given that the defensive back and wide receiver positions are heavily fortified for the Lions, these moves aren’t surprising. After back-to-back winning seasons and a trip to the NFC title game, Detroit is adding depth at all skill positions for a potential run to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Lions Trim Down Their 2024 Roster
#Lions have placed the following players on Active/NFI:
Carlton Davis
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Amik Robertson
Tre'Quan SmithThe #Lions have waived Matt Farniok
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) July 24, 2024
Of all these moves, perhaps Carlton Davis stands out the most. Signed just months ago by the franchise, the defensive back obviously won’t be on the field for week 1 of the NFL season. He was a notable veteran, free agent acquisition. He had already won a championship with the team that originally drafted him, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in Super Bowl LV. He was a solid contributor to that Bucs squad that season, garnering 68 total tackles, four interceptions, and 18 passes defended in the 14 games where he saw action.
The diminutive Amik Robertson is a 5’9″ firecracker on defense, who will likely contribute to the Lions at some point this year. He was signed by Detroit in March, after spending his first four seasons with the Raiders. Much like the two wide receivers that were also named as deactivated, Robertson is considered more of a depth player, rather than a part of the team’s regular, defensive rotation.
Donovan Peoples-Jones was a former sixth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2020, and he has seen limited playing time throughout his career. He had thirteen catches last year, with no touchdowns. Likewise, Tre’Quan Smith, 28, has been somewhat of a journeyman throughout his time in the NFL.
On a side note to the Lions’ moves this week, they also waived former Nebraska Cornhusker Matt Farniok. The center was originally drafted in the seventh round by the Dallas Cowboys and spent last year on the Bears’ practice squad. Detroit had signed him over the winter but chose to release him at the start of camp.
Detroit’s Outlook Heading Into the 2024 Season
After losing the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers, Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell and General Manager Brad Holmes didn’t panic. They didn’t scrap everything and go back to the drawing board. Instead, they have focused on adding much-needed depth to the roster, building around the team’s stars in Quarterback Jared Goff and Wide Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. That’s not even mentioning the defense, anchored by former first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson.
Detroit’s defense ranked 19th in the NFL in 2023, a number that the team will look to improve upon. Overall, it’s a fairly young unit that will need to come together in training camp if Detroit is going to have any improvement on last season.
As far as the Lions are concerned, 2023 was just a tune-up for what lies ahead. Management in the “Motor City” is fully behind their head coach and GM, and the team will look to prove that last season was no fluke. As it stands in the early days of training camp, Detroit should be the easy favorite to repeat as NFC North Champions, along with adding in another strong postseason run.
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