This offseason, the Detroit Lions made an unusual amount of changes to their roster. With a tightening salary cap and a need to get younger, the Lions said goodbye to several players who had long been part of the organizaiton.
With the Lions on their bye week, we thought this would be a good chance to check in on those departed players and see how they’re doing with their new teams.
RB David Montgomery
New team: Texans
Stats: 52 carries, 138 yards (2.7 YPC), 2 TDs; 7 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD
PFF grade: 68.1 (20th out of 53)
Montgomery is getting a bigger share of carries than he would’ve in Detroit (Woody Marks has 11 more carries than Montgomery at 149), but the efficiency numbers have fallen off a cliff. Montgomery’s 2.7 yards per carry is the lowest of his career by a full yard, and his 40.4% rushing success rate is also a career-low.
Unfortunately, Montgomery suffered a groin injury last week, and is considered week-to-week.
WR Kalif Raymond
New team: Bears
Stats: 24 catches, 226 yards, 1 TD; 9 punt returns, 93 yards (10.3 avg.)
PFF grade: 73.0 (34th out of 97)
Raymond is already close to surpassing his yardage total from last year with the Lions (289) and is on pace for a career year. He has played in 62.4% of the Bears’ offensive snaps, which is his highest percentage since his first year in Detroit (71.4%). But his production has slowed down, catching five passes for 12 total yards in the last two games combined—albeit with a pair of backup quarterbacks.
WR Greg Dortch
New team: Bills
Stats: 0 catches; 9 punt returns, 84 yards (9.3 avg.); 16 kick returns, 421 yards (26.3 avg.)
PFF grade: 72.1 return grade (12th out of 70th)
Dortch has only played in 11 snaps on offense, but he’s been a solid returner for the Bills—something the Lions could certainly use after the injury to Tom Kennedy. Dortch’s punt return average is below league average, but his kick return average is just above it.
G Kayode Awosika
New team: Chargers
Stats: 2 starts
PFF grade: 59.2 (44th out of 81)
Awosika won the starting left guard job for the Chargers out of training camp, but has missed the last three games with a fibula injury. For what it’s worth, he’s currently graded higher than Lions’ reserve guard Ben Bartch (48.0).
DT Roy Lopez
New team: Cardinals
Stats: 5 starts — 20 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 3 TFLs
PFF grade: 71.3 (21st out of 140)
As Lions fans saw a taste of on Sunday, Lopez continues to play strong football on the interior. He’s been a big reason why the Cardinals have a strong run defense, and he flashed some of his pass rushing chops with his first sack of the season opposite Juice Scruggs.
DT DJ Reader
New team: Giants
Stats: 5 starts—13 tackles
PFF grade: 85.8 (2nd out of 140)
Reader apparently still has it at age 32. He’s not only continued to be a strong run defender (77.4, fourth), but PFF is giving him an outstanding pass rushing grade at 78.5 (eighth) despite only producing five pressures this year.
Also interesting, despite having Reader playing at his best, the Giants run defense is giving up the second-highest yards per carry average (5.2) in the NFL.
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad
New team: Buccaneers
Stats: 5 games, 2 starts — 4 tackles, 2 QB hits, 0.0 sacks
PFF grade: 77.1 (24th out of 123)
Muhammad’s standard stat sheet is quite bear, as he continues to look for his first sack of the season and only has four pressures through five games. However, PFF credits him with above average scores in every phase of the game.
EDGE Marcus Davenport
New team: Bears (now retired)
Stats: 1 game — 1 tackle
PFF grade: 70.8
I felt compelled to add Davenport to this list, given he was considered a starter in Detroit. He made the Bears’ practice squad, got an elevation for a game, and announced his retirement from football last week.
EDGE Tyrus Wheat
New team: Cowboys
Stats: 4 games — 3 tackles (14 defensive snaps, 67 special teams snaps)
PFF grade: 61.9 PFF special teams grade
After logging 215 special teams snaps for the Lions last year, Wheat remains a staple on the third phase of the game in Dallas.
LB Alex Anzalone
New team: Buccaneers
Stats: 5 starts — 27 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 INT
PFF grade: 41.1 (75 out of 76)
Anzalone’s start to his Tampa career was a complete disaster, with fans callingfor his benching after just two games. He’s since settled in a bit, and he helped the Bucs get their first win of the season on Thursday with a game-clinching interception. What has been particularly concerning about his play is missed tackles. He had four in the first two games of the season after tallying just eight all of last year.
LB Grant Stuard
New team: Rams
Stats: 5 games — 2 tackles (0 defensive snaps, 99 special teams snaps)
PFF grade: 66.9 special teams grade
Stuard remains a four-core special teamer with the Rams, but has yet to find the field on defense.
CB Amik Robertson
New team: Commanders
Stats: 5 starts — 33 tackles, 8 passes defended, 1 forced fumble
PFF grade: 74.9 (13th out of 111)
If there’s one player the Lions may regret letting go, it’s Robertson—who signed a lucrative two-year, $15 million contract with Washington this offseason. Robertson has been excellent, leading the league with eight passes defended. He’s allowed a passer rating of just 79.8 when targeted (17 catches on 31 targets for 158 yards and 1 TD). However, he does have five penalties on the season—second-most among all cornerbacks.
And he remains an elite run defender—producing an 87.3 grade in that phase, fifth-best among all cornerbacks.
S Daniel Thomas
New team: Browns
Stats: 3 games (0 starts) — 4 tackles (0 defensive snaps, 64 special teams snaps)
PFF grade: 69.8 special teams grade
The Lions didn’t have room for Thomas after overhauling the safety room, but he’s been an effective special teamer in Cleveland
Notable former Lions with no playing time
- QB Kyle Allen (Bills)
- TE Shane Zylstra (unsigned)
- C Graham Glasgow (unsigned)
- OT Taylor Decker (unsigned)
- EDGE Josh Paschal (unsigned)
- LB Zach Cunningham (unsigned)