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Rookie seventh-round pick Dwayne Washington has made the Lions' 53-man roster after a red-hot preseason.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Dwayne Washington finished the preseason the same way he began it.

By taking one to the house.

The Detroit Lions rookie running back had an electric preseason, including scoring on a 96-yard yard kick return against Pittsburgh and on a 58-yard run against Buffalo. He averaged 5.8 yards every time he touched the ball on offense.

In the end, that was more than enough to earn him a hard-fought job on the Lions' 53-man roster that was announced Saturday afternoon. First-year GM Bob Quinn elected to carry him in Detroit's five-man backfield along with Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner and fullback Michael Burton.

"I've been impressed with some of the things he's done," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said of Washington. "When the guy gets the ball he does impressive things. That's a good trait to have."

Quinn also kept another rookie at the back end of his defensive line rotation in Anthony Zettel, who was a sixth-round pick. And an undrafted rookie, little-known Adairius Barnes, might have been the most surprising pick of all in the defensive backfield.

He made the team over Alex Carter, who was cut just one season after going in the third round of last year's draft.

But Quinn proved he wasn't going to play favorites with his draft class either, choosing Dan Orlovsky as his backup quarterback over sixth-round pick Jake Rudock, even though Rudock was Detroit's highest-rated QB during the preseason.

Rudock was the most shocking cut, although TJ Jones' dismissal was unexpected too. Jones had repped as the starting slot receiver for much of the offseason, then as the top reserve after the acquisition of Anquan Boldin. He even sat with the regulars for the preseason finale against Buffalo.

Jace Billingsley also was cut at the position, despite leading Detroit in receiving during the preseason. Detroit kept just four receivers, with Andre Roberts earning the only job behind starters Marvin Jones, Golden Tate and Boldin.

Here is the full roster:

Quarterback (2): Matthew Stafford, Dan Orlovsky

Out: Jake Rudock

Tailback (5): Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington, Michael Burton (fullback)

Out: George Winn

Receiver (4): Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, Andre Roberts

Out: TJ Jones, Jay Lee, Jace Billingsley, Quinshad Davis

Tight end (3): Eric Ebron, Cole Wick, Orson Charles

Out: Adam Fuehne

Offensive line (9): Taylor Decker, Laken Tomlinson, Travis Swanson, Larry Warford, Riley Reiff, Graham Glasgow, Joe Dahl, Cornelius Lucas, Corey Robinson

Out: Michael Ola, Luke Marquardt, Gabe Ikard, Lemuel Jeanpierre, Brandon Thomas

Defensive line (11): Ezekiel Ansah, Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker, Devin Taylor, Wallace Gilberry, Brandon Copeland, A'Shawn Robinson, Stefan Charles, Khyri Thornton, Anthony Zettel, Kerry Hyder

Out: Caraun Reid, Gabe Wright

Linebacker (6): DeAndre Levy, Tahir Whitehead, Kyle Van Noy, Josh Bynes, Antwione Williams, Jon Bostic

Out: Khaseem Greene, Zaviar Gooden, Jayson DiManche

Defensive back (10): Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson, Quandre Diggs, Adairius Barnes, Johnson Bademosi, Glover Quin, Rafael Bush, Tavon Wilson, Miles Killebrew, Don Carey

Out: Alex Carter, Darrin Walls, Charles Washington, Isaiah Johnson

Specialist (3): Matt Prater, Sam Martin, Don Muhlbach

Out: None.

Suspended: TE Andrew Quarless

PUP: TE Brandon Pettigrew, WR Corey Fuller

How did we do? Compare Detroit's 53-man roster with our projection by clicking here.