Detroit Lions cornerback Roger McCreary appears to be firmly on the roster bubble. Moe Moton of Bleacher Report noted that because of his struggles during training camp and the team not having any financial ties to him, they should release him when they make their 53-man roster.
“Detroit signed McCreary to a one-year, $1.4 million deal. So, the Lions can cut him without much dead cap penalty,” wrote Moton. “Although he has a clear pathway to the Lions’ lead slot cornerback position, his mediocre performances at practice could cost him a roster spot.”
The path that McCreary has to the slot has been more crowded in recent weeks, which is why the cut speculation has ramped up.
Detroit Lions Could Cut Cornerback Roger McCreary
Gettydefensive back Roger McCreary of the Detroit Lions
McCreary is struggling to find his role with the Lions. Early in training camp, he was pushing for the starting slot job. However, when free-agent signing Christian Izien returned to practice, the team put him in the slot ahead of McCreary.
Izien plays both safety and slot cornerback. While the expectation was that he would come in and push Avonte Maddox to start at safety, he is actually going to push McCreary in the slot.
This could be directly because of how they view Izien. It could also be the team viewing Maddox as a better starting option than McCreary. Detroit also has rookie Keith Abney pushing for work in the slot, so the role is crowded.
Detroit has pushed him into the outside competition since then. In the preseason opener, he played 24 outside snaps to just 12 in the slot. However, he is not high up on the depth chart here, either.
Rock Ya-Sin was held out with the rest of the starters, showing he is in a commanding lead on the outside. Ennis Rakestraw cannot stay healthy, but he was ahead of McCreary, and so was summer sensation Nick Whiteside.
If McCreary is third in the slot competition and fourth on the outside, the team can afford to cut him.
McCreary Has Fallen Down Lions Roster Quickly This Offseason
This is quite the fall for the former second-round pick. He was drafted due to his ability to play on the outside, but the Tennessee Titans tried to push him into the slot early. He was also drafted by Mike Vrabel, and when the defense changed, things did not work.
So, the Titans traded him to the Los Angeles Rams in the last year of his rookie deal. He saw the field a bit, but was healthy and familiar enough with the defense to serve a real role.
McCreary went from 1,164 snaps in his rookie season down to 934 snaps in his second year, then 652 snaps in year three, and lastly he had 345 snaps. Now, he is pushing to stay on an active roster.
That is quite a surprising fall from a rookie who showed a lot of promise. He still has a few weeks to change the narrative. Is McCreary able to prove he belongs on the roster?
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