The Lions didn’t make the big splash that some fans were hoping for at the NFL Trade Deadline on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the roster is set in stone.
Detroit did add Donovan Peoples-Jones in a trade with Cleveland – further muddying the waters for the wide receiver corps – while questions remain on the defensive side of the ball.
Let’s examine who is still in danger of losing their role as Detroit prepares for a postseason push:
This hasn’t even been a conversation worth having in recent seasons, with the Lions buried in the basement of the standings with no pressing need to win now.
However, that’s changed. Detroit (6-2) currently has the second-best record in the NFC, and NFL fans know how short windows of contention can be.
That’s why these three Lions will have to start to play better ASAP if they want to stay on the field.
Of course, Williams will always be useful as a deep-ball threat, but that might be all he’ll ever be, and he’s running out of time to prove that wrong with Peoples-Jones now on the roster.
Harris has been a dependable member of the defensive secondary for a couple of seasons now, but he may be getting squeezed out of the picture.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old has played in less than 5% of defensive snaps in four games already this season (0% last week) with promising young players like Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph giving the team plenty of depth at safety, even with CJ Gardner-Johnson out.
Considering that Harris isn’t under contract for next season, he certainly has enough motivation to make an impact going forward.
