Here are the latest moves from around the NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
New England Patriots
Today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Jets
The Lions used a couple of different methods to get their active roster to 53 players:
The Lions released a lot more vested veterans than we typically see at this time in the year, perhaps a sign of the young talent on the roster. Peko seemed like a sure thing to make the roster after starting 10 games for the Titans in 2023.
Detroit will dismiss a couple of young rushers in Jefferson and Knight after the two failed to develop a significant role on the roster. Fromm was easily outshined in the preseason by an electric Hendon Hooker, who will take the backup job behind Jared Goff. Fromm continues to search for his place in the NFL after nearly winning it all at the collegiate level.
Martin, like Mahogany, will be able to return after four weeks, thanks to a new NFL rule that allows each team to place two players on IR before or at the roster cut deadline and designate them to return. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley has the other designation.
Mahogany is the only drafted rookie not to make the initial 53, but he’ll stick around in Detroit. On the other side of things, the Lions kept three undrafted rookie signees on their active roster to start the season. Most notably Hogan Hatten will come in and operate as the team’s new long snapper. Safety Loren Strickland from Ball State and wide receiver Isaiah Williams from Illinois are the other two undrafted rookies to make the initial roster.
Rashan Gary is all set to debut in Week 1, completing his recovery from the ACL tear that ended his 2022 season in November. But the Packers will begin their top pass rusher on a pitch count to start the season, Matt LaFleur confirmed (via Packers Wire’s Zach Kruse). This could open the door for early-season Lukas Van Ness development. The Packers still roster Preston Smith, who is going into his fifth season with the team, and Van Ness contributed as an inside and outside rusher at Iowa. The team has versatile linebacker Justin Hollins and 2022 fifth-rounder Kingsley Enagbare, who became a primary starter after Gary went down last season, as options while Gary ramps up to a full workload.
Additionally on the Green Bay injury front, David Bakhtiari, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are viewed as game-time decisions for Sunday’s opener against the Bears. Bakhtiari, who has seen knee trouble sidetrack his career to a degree over the past two-plus years, is listed on the injury report with more knee trouble. He expects to play, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein tweets. Both starting receivers are battling hamstring maladies and have not practiced this week. Here is the latest from the NFC North:
Here are the latest members of the 2023 draft class to sign their four-year rookie contracts:
Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions
Las Vegas Raiders
New York Giants
Hyatt will represent youth for the Giants, who have assembled a veteran-heavy receiving nucleus. Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder are attached to veteran contracts. Hyatt joins 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson and waiver claim Isaiah Hodgins as the young talents in this group. After trading up 16 spots to land Hyatt, Giants will rely on him for a deep speed presence. Although he went off the board 73rd overall, Hyatt is the reigning Biletnikoff award winner.
Martin and Young are each the top outside investment either the Lions or Raiders made along their respective interior defensive lines this offseason. The Lions drafted first- and second-round D-linemen (Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal) last year. The Raiders have devoted plenty to their edge-rushing contingent, using a first-round pick on Tyree Wilson after giving Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones big-ticket deals last year, but the team has not allocated many resources to its D-tackle positions. Martin was the last of the six Day 1 or Day 2 picks the Lions made this year.
The Cardinals continue to deal picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, this time trading the No. 96 overall pick to the Lions in exchange for Detroit’s Nos. 122, 138, and 168, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The Lions used their new third-round pick to select Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin.
Coming out of Tuscaloosa with no stars in recruiting rankings, Martin went to North Alabama. He played for four years at the FCS school before transferring to Western Kentucky in the spring of 2021. Martin’s production saw no drop off as he elevated to the FBS level. In two years with the Hilltoppers, Martin totaled 62 tackles, six tackles for loss, and four sacks, all impressive numbers for a nose tackle.
At nearly 6-foot-5, 330 pounds, Martin is a boulder in the middle of the defensive line. While his technique wasn’t fully developed and sometimes lacks, he makes up for it with violent strength and deceptive quickness. He accumulated 143 tackles in five years of college play thanks to his ability to stack up and move laterally to defend multiple gaps in the line.
Defensive tackle was a bit of a need for Detroit. The Lions rolled mostly with Alim McNeill and Isaiah Buggs on the interior defensive line, rotating in Benito Jones as Levi Onwuzurike sat out the year recovering from back surgery. None of the linemen were necessarily dominant with McNeill grading out highest, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), ranking as the 33rd-best defensive tackle in the league.
Martin likely won’t be asked to play the 65-plus percentage of defensive snaps that McNeill and Buggs did in 2022, but he should provide strong contributions in short sample sizes. With Onwuzurike hopefully due to return soon, Martin won’t be expected to be an immediate contributor, but once he develops, Martin could be a strong nose tackle in Aaron Glenn‘s system.