The fourth preseason game is where the last few roster spots are filled. Teams are fairly certain who will stay and who will go in most cases. For 10-15 players, however, this is their last chance to make the squad. These are the players on the Detroit Lions roster bubble.

The starters are likely set in stone for the Detroit Lions and you will not see most of them tonight. their main backups are also quite likely set. Tonight’s game is about the players trying to fill in that third string role. Tonight’s game is all about those players fighting to continue their NFL careers at all. Those players find themselves on the Detroit Lions roster bubble.

In prior seasons, before the Bob Quinn era, the Lions have often been deciding which players are worth keeping at all. They were choosing which terrible players they would cobble together a kick coverage unit with. The Lions were loaded with Arena League and CFL level talents. in 2017 the Lions are going to cut a lot of players that you will see signed elsewhere. Players that do not get to the Lions practice squad will end up on other team’s practice squad. This has been a solid and entertaining group to watch.

Many opening day roster decisions are made based on whether a team thinks a player will clear waivers or not. if a team doesn’t think that a player will make it to the practice squad, they will often keep them over a veteran who might be a better player immediately. An example of this would be Joe Dahl last season. He did not play as well as veteran Geoff Schwartz in the preseason. He did play well enough that another team would surely have claimed him if he hadn’t made the roster.

Between tonight’s game and Saturday, the Lions will trim their roster from a maximum of 90 players, down to a maximum of 53 players. Here is a look at each position, and which players fall on the Detroit Lions roster bubble.