Saturday night’s preseason game in Pittsburgh saw the Detroit Lions sit nearly every prominent player. As a result, a lot of the reserves were tasked with proving themselves against the Steelers starters, who largely played well into the second quarter. The snap counts for Detroit reflect what the depth looks like, and it’s not pretty at a lot of positions.
Before getting to the players who did play, here are the 21 Lions who sat out. Projected starters are in italics (in jersey number order):
Tyrell Williams, Jamie Collins, Jordan Ta’amu, Kalif Raymond, Jared Goff, Corn Elder, Jamaal Williams, Dean Marlowe, D’Andre Swift, Alex Anzalone, Evan Heim, Tyrell Crosby, Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, T.J. Hockenson, Trey Flowers, Michael Brockers, Da’Shawn Hand, Romeo Okwara, Nick Williams, John Penisini
Two Lions played every available snap. Center Evan Brown and left tackle Matt Nelson were on the field for all 61 offensive reps. Starting guards Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Jonah Jackson played three series, 11 snaps apiece, before giving way to Tommy Kraemer and Logan Stenberg the rest of the way.
The Lions tested rookie right tackle Penei Sewell a little longer, leaving him out there for 21 reps before Dan Skipper replaced him. Reserve Darrin Paulo did not play on offense, only seeing the field on special teams.
There is a wide battle for the final spots at wide receiver. Tom Kennedy topped all WR with 42 reps, followed by Geronimo Allison (30), Quintez Cephus (21), Breshad Perriman (21), Victor Bolden (13), Damion Ratley and Amon-Ra St. Brown (11), Javon McKinley (9), Darius Jennings (6) and Sage Surratt (3).
Special teams reps are critical for reserve wideouts. Bolden, Surratt, Allison, Perriman, McKinley and Ratley all getting zero reps on special teams is notable.
On defense, Jahlani Tavai and Jalen Reeves-Maybin topped the Lions with 39 of the 64 available reps. It did not go well for either linebacker. Other Lions defenders who saw at least 40 percent of the snaps:
- OLB Julian Okwara
- OLB Austin Bryant
- S Jalen Elliott
- DT Bruce Hector
- CB A.J. Parker
- S C.J. Moore
- CB Mike Ford
Second-round rookie DE Levi Onwuzurike made his debut with 17 snaps. Fellow rookie lineman Alim McNeill played 14, as did newcomer Rashod Berry.
Safety C.J. Moore topped all Lions with 14 special teams snaps out of 25. Moore also played 28 reps on defense. Tom Kennedy was the starting punt returner, while RB Javon Leake, who did not play on offense, was the Lions’ initial kick returner.
