One of the mantras in Detroit Lions 2025 training camp has been: “The standard is the standard.” We’ve heard that phrase repeated multiple times throughout camp, from both coaches and players. On Thursday, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes spoke with the media about the Lions’ recent cutdowns and why the team made the decision to keep only 50 players on their initial roster.
Cutdowns are always a challenging time of the NFL calendar. Teams spent the last eight months of the offseason building a 90-man roster through free agency and the draft, then put that roster through a grueling month of training camp and preseason, only to have it culminate in a massive roster reduction period. Teams are allowed to retain a maximum of 53 players on their active roster, as well as a 16-player practice squad, and any players still rehabilitating on injury lists.
Despite having the opportunity to keep 53 players, the Lions elected to keep only 50 on their initial roster, a move that is deemed somewhat unusual for NFL teams. But the Lions don’t always operate within typical expectations, and over the years, they have established a standard of play that they’re unwilling to compromise on.
“‘Why not do the best 53?’ Well, if you only have 50 that we deemed as the standard of making it, then you’ve got to look elsewhere. So that’s the approach that we did,” Holmes said on Thursday.
Holmes would go on to explain that there were two main strategic approaches behind this decision: first, the team has high standards of expectations, and secondly, he enjoys the flexibility of having open roster spots to work with when trying to improve the roster externally.
“First of all, the players that make the team, make the team,” Holmes elaborated. “We don’t say, ‘Well, who are the first three out? Let’s put them on the team.’ That’s not how it works around here. So we had 50 guys make the team, and I think that’s kind of how the level (of expectations) has gotten on the roster. But it does give you a lot of flexibility when you start getting into trades and (waiver wire) claims and possible external additions. You don’t have to worry about releasing somebody that you had plans to keep, and this and that. So, I like the flexibility that it gives us.”
Since establishing their initial 50-man roster, the Lions traded wide receiver Tim Patrick, signed safety Daniel Thomas, and claimed edge rusher Tyrus Wheat and defensive lineman Tyler Lacy off of waivers. That leaves them one more spot available on the active roster to work with.
“You guys know me, anything’s a possibility at any point,” Holmes explained. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But, the one open roster spot, (just means) we just have one open roster spot. It’s not for a specific player, it’s for the player that makes the most sense for us, whoever that player may be.”
The logical connection most are making is that the Lions and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith could reconnect, but Holmes threw cold water on that idea for the moment, saying they haven’t had talks recently.
But regardless of how that final roster spot is filled, Holmes made it clear that he agrees with coach Dan Campbell’s assessment that this roster is the deepest it’s been in the five years under this regime.
“I feel that way. I agree,” Holmes concluded. “Look, we would’ve been even further ahead had we not had some of the injuries that we unfortunately had. The (Ennis) Rakestraws and the Levi (Onwuzurike), and stuff like that. But yeah, I feel very confident, especially with how it’s ended up, since yesterday. Yeah, it’s deep, but again, we’re always searching. It’s never take your foot off the gas, there’s no breath of fresh air, or sigh of relief. We may do more stuff today. It’s an everyday task, in terms of roster building, but I feel really good about where we’re at.”
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