news

Who helped themselves in the final pre-season practice match?

Vaseline August 25, 2024

The Detroit Lions came back for their second straight preseason victory on Saturday, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 before a raucous (for the preseason) crowd at Ford Field. Hendon Hooker played the majority of the game, led the Lions with 93 yards rushing and was the driving force behind the game-winning drive early in the fourth quarter.

These are the players who helped or hurt their stocks on Saturday.

Three up

OLB Isaac Ukwu

Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game that he was happy to see “a number of guys (who) really continued to grow and improve, even from last week,” and the first player he mentioned in that group was Ukwu, the undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss who had his third sack in as many preseason games. Ukwu forced a key fumble Saturday when he drove off Steelers third-string tackle Devery Hamilton into quarterback Kyle Allen, knocking the ball out of Allen’s hands as he threw a pass. Ukwu still has a lot of development to do, but he showed enough in the preseason to play his way onto the 53-man roster.

WR Isaiah Williams

Williams is the other undrafted rookie who has been impossible to ignore this preseason, and he “showed up again” Saturday, Campbell admitted. Williams cut a route that led to a Hendon Hooker interception, but he ran a nice route on his 17-yard catch and showed his make-you-miss ability in the open field on his three-point returns. Williams led the Lions with 11 catches for 123 yards in the exhibition game and showed more consistent playmaking ability than any other Lions receiver in the mix for a backup spot.

QB Jake Fromm

The Lions signed Fromm two weeks ago as insurance while Hooker was out with a brain injury, and Campbell said this week that he didn’t expect Fromm to play Saturday. But Hooker got enough work in the first three quarters that Fromm played the last two series against the Steelers, and he was impressive in the work. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 89 yards and threw nice passes to Jalon Calhoun (to convert a third-and-11) and Jake Funk (which was dropped or would have been a touchdown). Fromm won’t make the 53-man roster, but he got some good footage Saturday that should help him earn a practice squad spot, either with the Lions or elsewhere.

Three down

KJake Bates

The Lions are willing to live with some growing pains with Bates. That’s part of the price of developing a young kicker. But Bates missed a 30-yard field goal wide right and was assessed two penalties on kickoffs, one for kicking the ball short of the touchdown zone and one for kicking the ball out. Those are the kinds of mistakes that can cost a team a regular-season game, and for a Super Bowl contender like the Lions, it can mean the difference between hosting the NFC championship game or going to San Francisco.

MORE BIRKETT: The Ups and Downs of Hendon Hooker in Detroit Lions’ 24-17 Win Over Steelers’ Muddy QB Decision

WR Donovan Mensen-Jones

Peoples-Jones didn’t play badly on Saturday, but he’s clearly on the roster bubble for next week’s cuts and he didn’t do anything to stand out in his quest for a job. He didn’t catch any of the three passes thrown his way (though he was open on at least two of those routes) and he finished the preseason with two catches for 31 yards in extended action. I still think Peoples-Jones is ahead of the others in the battle for the No. 5 receiver job; Daurice Fountain dropped a pass on Saturday. But the Lions will be scouring the waiver wire and trade market for upgrades this week.

S Ifeatu Melifonwu

Melifonwu is only on this list because of the growing concerns about his availability. Melifonwu was treated for an Achilles injury before last week’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He started and played 38 defensive snaps in that game, tied for third on the team, but did not practice at all last week and missed Saturday’s game. Melifonwu has a lengthy injury history, and Campbell offered a troubling look at his future on Saturday. “I’m not sure,” Campbell said. “He’s been out for a while. Nothing that we think is long-term, it’s still going to be a while. I’m not sure. I don’t know when we’re going to get him back or if he’s going to be back, what that timeline is.”

Contact Dave Birkett at [email protected]Follow him on X and Instagram via @davebirkett.