What went into the decision to keep six wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster?

Marvin Jones Jr., Golden Tate, Kenny Golladay, TJ Jones, Brandon Powell and Bradley Marquez made the initial 53. Patricia eluded to a trend he's seeing around the league with teams keeping more receivers on the roster.

"I think a lot of teams right now are keeping about six receivers with as much sub offense as teams run," he said.

Patricia also pointed to special teams being a big factor in the Lions' decision to keep six. Both Powell and Marquez could be core special teamers, if they're active on gameday.

"Special teams will be a big part of the that and some guys that can help you like (Brandon) Powell or Bradley Marquez, guys like that can help in those situations have another value. More so than just offensively.

"They can be an impactful player in the third phase of the game, which is critically important. So, I think both of those guys kind of fall into that category. They all do a good job of really participating in special teams. Those guys that will be out there in those core situations are the ones that you really try to hold on to when you can."

Why Matt Cassel over Jake Rudock as Matthew Stafford's backup?

It appears the decision really came down to Cassel's experience in the end. Those 81 career starts, and Cassel having played in a lot of situations over the years, proved to be the difference.

"I think Matt did a great job of coming in here from the spring and really learning the system and the communication in the offense itself," Patricia said.

"I think he does a good job of kind of handling the different positions and getting everything checked and changed. And he's seen a lot of defense too, so he can recognize some of those different looks that he's seen based on formationing or personnel. Things like that he has a good recognition of that also."