With a little more than a week now before the Lions hit the field in Tampa Bay to begin the regular season, they made their final cut down.
Among some of the bigger names cut today were WR Derrick Williams who failed to make an impact with the team after being drafted out of Penn State back in 2009. In his two years with the Lions he finished with nine receptions for 83 yards. Other wide-out releases included Dominique Barnes, Nate Hughes and Tim Toone.
On special teams veteran punter Nick Harris was shown the door after the Lions decided to go with undrafted rookie Ryan Donahue.
On the defensive side of things no one was able to break the Lions’ depth on the defensive line. Tackles Robert Callaway and Quinn Pitcock were cut despite strong showings in the preseason. The same could be said for defensive ends Keyunta Dawson and Narada Williams who also didn’t make the cut.
Here is the full list of players that didn’t make the 53 man roster…
Quarterback
Zach Robinson
Offensive Line
Kirk Chambers
Dan Gerberry
Rudy Niswanger
Donald Thomas
Tight Ends
Joe Jon Finley
Gijon Robinson
Wide Receivers
Derrick Williams
Keyunta Dawson
Narada Williams
Running Back
Ian Johnson
Full Back
Matt Clapp
Defensive Line
Robert Callaway
Quinn Pitcock
Keyunta Dawson
Narada Williams
Linebackers
Caleb Campbell
Cobrani Mixon (waived/injured)
Safeties
Aaron Francisco
Ricardo Silva
Cornerbacks
Anthony Madison
Prince Miller
Paul Pratt
Ricardo Silva
Nathan Vasher
Punter
Nick Harris
Some players also got some good news today.
Running back Aaron Brown was told he made the cut after a strong showing in the preseason where he displayed being able to catch the ball in the backfield and use his speed to gain yardage. The team also activated cornerback Alphonso Smith off the Active/Non-Football injury list after he missed the entire preseason with a foot injury.
Rookie tackle Johnny Culbreath, who was drafted this year in the seventh round was placed on the injured reserve list.
Source: Mlive.com, AnnArbor.com