Lions place WR Greg Salas on IR, likely to be released

The Detroit Lions have started the process of trimming their roster down to 53 players.

The Lions notified several players of their release this morning, including wide receiver Greg Salas, tight end Casey Pierce, guard Al Bond and cornerback Crezdon Butler.

The team placed Salas on injured reserve with a left knee injury but is expected to release him with an injury settlement once he clears waivers.

Salas had the best training camp of the group and led the Lions with 10 catches for 138 yards this preseason. But the veteran receiver injured his knee in Thursday's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, casting doubt on his availability for the start of the season.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell said the receiver position posed one of the toughest roster decisions. The Lions typically keep five receivers, and Salas, T.J. Jones, Jeremy Ross and Lance Moore were competing for probably two spots.

Pierce, an undrafted rookie out of Kent State, is a candidate to return on the practice squad once he clears waivers, depending on what the Lions do with Joseph Fauria and Tim Wright. Bond also is practice squad eligible.

Butler's release was reported by NFL Network.

Teams have until 4 p.m. today to reach the 53-man roster limit, and can begin signing players to their practice squads at noon Sunday.

The Lions have several tough decisions to make at receiver, running back and along both lines.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our free Lions Xtra app on your Apple and Android devices.

Lions' 53-man roster

Active

NO PLAYER POS HT WT AGE YRS COLLEGE 42 Abdul-Quddus, Isa FS 6-1 203 26 5 Fordham 21 Abdullah, Ameer RB 5-9 203 22 R Nebraska 94 Ansah, Ezekiel DE 6-6 279 26 3 Brigham Young 35 Bell, Joique RB 5-11 231 29 5 Wayne State 65 Boggs, Taylor C 6-3 302 28 3 Humboldt State 46 Burton, Michael FB 6-0 247 23 R Rutgers 57 Bynes, Josh LB 6-1 235 26 4 Auburn 26 Carey, Don S 5-11 202 28 7 Norfolk State 33 Carter, Alex CB 6-0 198 20 R Stanford 95 Copeland, Brandon LB 6-3 248 24 1 Pennsylvania 28 Diggs, Quandre CB 5-9 197 23 R Texas 85 Ebron, Eric TE 6-4 255 22 2 North Carolina 10 Fuller, Corey WR 6-2 200 25 2 Virginia Tech 58 Hunt, Phillip DE 6-1 258 29 3 Houston 32 Ihedigbo, James SS 6-1 214 31 8 Massachusetts 81 Johnson, Calvin WR 6-5 237 29 9 Georgia Tech 91 Jones, Jason DE 6-5 275 29 8 Eastern Michigan 13 Jones, TJ WR 6-0 190 23 2 Notre Dame 24 Lawson, Nevin CB 5-10 191 24 2 Utah State 54 Levy, DeAndre LB 6-2 234 28 7 Wisconsin 50 Lewis, Travis LB 6-2 235 27 4 Oklahoma 77 Lucas, Cornelius T 6-9 328 24 2 Kansas State 6 Martin, Sam P 6-1 211 25 3 Appalachian State 31 Mathis, Rashean CB 6-1 195 35 13 Bethune-Cookman 16 Moore, Lance WR 5-9 187 32 10 Toledo 48 Muhlbach, Don LS 6-4 258 34 12 Texas A&M 92 Ngata, Haloti DT 6-4 345 31 10 Oregon 8 Orlovsky, Dan QB 6-5 215 32 10 Connecticut 87 Pettigrew, Brandon TE 6-5 278 30 7 Oklahoma State 5 Prater, Matt K 5-10 211 31 9 Central Florida 27 Quin, Glover FS 6-0 207 29 7 New Mexico 63 Ramirez, Manny G 6-3 325 32 9 Texas Tech 97 Reid, Caraun DT 6-2 298 23 2 Princeton 71 Reiff, Riley T 6-6 308 26 4 Iowa 25 Riddick, Theo RB 5-9 201 24 3 Notre Dame 70 Robinson, Corey OT 6-7 316 23 R South Carolina 23 Slay, Darius CB 6-1 190 24 3 Mississippi State 9 Stafford, Matthew QB 6-3 236 27 7 Georgia 64 Swanson, Travis C 6-5 307 24 2 Arkansas 52 Tapp, Darryl DE 6-1 270 30 10 Virginia Tech 15 Tate, Golden WR 5-10 198 27 6 Notre Dame 98 Taylor, Devin DE 6-7 275 25 3 South Carolina 72 Tomlinson, Laken OG 6-3 322 23 R Duke 55 Tulloch, Stephen LB 5-11 246 30 10 N.C. State 53 Van Noy, Kyle LB 6-3 248 24 2 BYU 66 Waddle, LaAdrian T 6-6 328 24 3 Texas Tech 93 Walker, Tyrunn DT 6-3 305 25 4 Tulsa 75 Warford, Larry G 6-3 332 24 3 Kentucky 59 Whitehead, Tahir LB 6-2 241 25 4 Temple 30 Wilson, Josh CB 5-9 187 30 9 Maryland 90 Wright, Gabe DT 6-3 305 23 R Auburn 89 Wright, Timothy TE 6-4 220 25 3 Rutgers 41 Zenner, Zach RB 5-11 222 23 R South Dakota St.

Reserve/Injured