On Tuesday at 4:03pm ET the Detroit Lions announced their official 53-man roster. This season, Brad Holmes says, was much more difficult than in years passed.

Brad Holmes Talks Detroit Lions Roster

In a press conference on Thursday, Holmes talked about the differences between last year and this year saying, “…Just going back to last year, trying to cut down to 85, probably after the first few days of camp, I probably could’ve told you, ‘Yep, got the five.’ You got to cut down to 80 and it’s like, ‘Yep, got it.’ Even – I told you guys last year, we cut down to 53 last year, I mean Dan and I maybe had probably like one or two discussions that needed to be made. But fast forward to this year, just getting down to 85 was – it was difficult.”

Dan Campbell Speaks to Media

Similarly, Dan Campbell spoke on cuts Tuesday saying, “I mean, it’s a lot more difficult than even last year. It was tough last year, but this year, it – because we are so much farther along.”

Episode 4 of Hard Knocks gave a look into the room with Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes agonizing over the roster board. It was clear they felt every move that they had to make, but they knew business had to be taken care of. The two have been very consistent when talking about doing what they need to do for the betterment of the team. Holmes said today, “We’ll always go down every avenue if there’s a way to improve our football team.”

“We’re not just collecting talent, we’re trying to build the right team and have the right 53.”

– Lions GM Brad Holmes on their final roster decisions. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/TflXYm8fVx
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) September 1, 2022

Holmes on Back Up QB’s

Many moves have been made since the initial roster cut. The most notable of the moves was the waiving of quarterbacks David Blough and Tim Boyle. Holmes spoke on the decision Thursday saying “We had the plan in place, we felt good about it and they just didn’t’ quite make the jump that we expected them to make. And so, you just got to make some tough decisions and you just got to just find the best solution that you can.” The Lions signed former 49ers quarterback Nate Sudfeld to back up Jared Goff.

Only one waived player from the Detroit Lions was claimed by another team. That was kicker Riley Patterson. He was picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

All the other players were available to be signed to the practice squad and so far 14/16 players have been signed to the squad. Blough signed with the Minnesota Vikings practice squad today.

The #Lions announce these players to the practice squad:
TE Garret Griffin
CB Saivion Smith
WR Tom Kennedy
CB AJ Parker
RB Justin Jackson
LB James Houston
WR Maurice Alexander
T Obinna Eze
DL Bruce Hector
LB Anthony Pittman
T Dan Skipper
LB Jarrad Davis
TE Derrick Deese
— Maddy Miller (@madelynvmillerr) August 31, 2022

What’s Next for The Lions?

While the storm has calmed it hasn’t yet passed. Holmes ended his opening statement on Thursday saying, “I mean it’s not over, again it’s still a young roster and those guys that got some of those last spots they still got to keep playing because we’re not going to stop working and it’s going to be an evolving process.

Maddy Miller – Lions Beat Reporter

Photo Credit: (AP Photo)