The Detroit Lions wrapped up their final preseason game of the 2024-25 season by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, August 24, in a 24-17 victory. Now, the powers at be will have to decide on their 53-man roster, and that roster is already tight. Ahead of the final preseason game, head coach Dan Campbell said there were only “five or six” spots still available on the team’s final roster, so there’s stiff competition to snag those final placements. Now, NFL experts and analysts are coming out with their predictions for the 53-man roster, and one writer has a wild projection for what Campbell and Brad Holmes will do to fill their final backup quarterback slots.
NFL Expert Thinks the Detroit Lions May Bring on a New Backup Quarterback
In his final Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection heading into 2024 regular season, published August 24, Brad Berreman of SideLionReport.com discusses who he thinks will, and won’t, make the cut. For the three quarterback spots, Berreman picked Jared Goff, Hendon Hooker and a quarterback “to be named.”
While some analysts and experts took Nate Sudfeld not playing in the final preseason game as a sign that he would be the main backup quarterback to Goff, Berreman has a different take. Instead, he thinks Detroit is going to look elsewhere for their third quarterback.
“Campbell has said Nate Sudfeld has a leg up on Hooker in the battle for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart here, which isn’t an ideal scenario the Lions should be embracing under any circumstance,” Berreman said. “Sudfeld also didn’t play against the Steelers, prompting Golden Tate, the former Lions’ wide receiver working the Detroit telecast as an analyst, to assume he must be the No. 2 quarterback.”
Berremen added that he’s being “bold” and going “outside the box” by suggesting “a more credible, experienced backup will be brought in. Then, Sudfeld can officially start looking at whatever his next job will be (it shouldn’t be taking up a spot anywhere on an NFL roster anymore). We’ve seen the Lions make late changes to their depth chart behind Goff before, and they should be open to doing it again if they don’t have full faith in Hooker yet.”
Some NFL Analysts Think Nate Sudfeld Will Stay in Detroit
While Berreman thinks Sundeld’s time in Detroit may be over, other NFL analysis and writers think he’s going to be the guy right behind Goff.
“Nate Sudfeld not appearing against the Steelers all but solidified his spot on the roster as the team’s backup quarterback behind veteran Jared Goff,” John Maakaron of Sports Illustrated wrote in an August 24th feature.
Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit doesn’t totally commit to Sudfeld making the roster, but he does state that, “Not only did Sudfeld rest during the preseason finale, he also got a pretty significant endorsement from coach Dan Campbell earlier in the week.”
Reisman is referring to a statement Campbell made about Sudfeld after the Lions’ August 17 preseason victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Ultimately you need to know, you have to have conviction that whoever that guy is going to be able to keep this ship afloat,” Campbell said via Pride of Detroit. “And what we know about Hooker is: Hooker is a young developing quarterback and he needs reps and he needs time. I do know that. And Nate, right now, has the upper hand because he’s played more. He’s been in it more, he’s seen it more. And so with that, that would tell you there’s a good chance you could keep three (quarterbacks on the 53-man roster). Am I going to say that’s 100 percent certain right now? No. But that’s kind of what you look at.”
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
