3 Detroit Lions in danger of getting cut after 2025 minicamp

The Detroit Lions are ready to make another deep playoff push during the 2025 NFL season. Detroit will face more obstacles than ever in 2025, with a much harder schedule and two new coordinators. But Dan Campbell and the Lions have never shied away from adversity before.

Detroit has one of the deepest rosters in the NFL thanks to years of excellent drafting by GM Brad Holmes. That means that the team now faces plenty of difficult questions every summer as they try and sort out who their best 53 players are.

The Lions will hold training camp next month, which will play a significant role in making those decisions. Unfortunately, not every player on the roster is even guaranteed a shot to prove themselves in training camp.

But which players are in danger of being cut before training camp even begins?

Below we will explore three Lions players who could be in danger of being cut after 2025 minicamp.

Will Ronnie Bell make it to Detroit’s training camp?

The Lions addressed wide receiver with two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

First, they made the controversial trade up for Isaac TeSlaa in the third round. Then they added Dominic Lovett in the later rounds.

Now the Lions suddenly have some difficult decisions to make during training camp.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, and Isaac TeSlaa feel like locks to make the final roster. I am tempted to put Kalif Raymond in this category as well, considering his utility on special teams.

That already gives the Lions five receivers which does not leave much room for anyone else.

That could be bad news for Ronnie Bell.

Detroit added Bell, a former 49ers receiver, to the practice squad back in January.

Bell has been working hard with the Lions all offseason. But that may not be enough to ensure he has a home in Detroit.

Bell will join Lovett in a camp battle with Tom Kennedy, Malik Taylor, Jackson Meeks, and Jakobie Keeney-James. This is tough competition, as Kennedy has long been a preseason darling for the Lions. Early word out of Detroit is that Jackson Meeks could make some noise during training camp as well.

Ronnie Bell is in some serious danger of being cut this summer.

DaRon Gilbert could be the unlucky linebacker cut before training camp

One of the easiest positions on the team to prediction a cut for is the linebacker room.

The rationale is quite simple. The Lions have 10 linebackers on the roster heading into training camp, which is a huge number in the modern NFL. Detroit has enjoyed solid linebacker play over the past few seasons, and it is set to continue in 2025.

Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, and Derrick Barnes are set to start for the Lions in 2025. Malcolm Rodriguez, Trevor Nowaske, and others will be in a competition for rotational roles behind them.

This brings us to DaRon Gilbert.

Gilbert is currently sitting at the bottom of Detroit’s depth chart heading into training camp. He has an incredibly difficult path to making the final roster.

Gilbert is in a competition with players that universally bring more to the table. Grant Stuard, Ezekiel Turner, Zach Cunningham, and Anthony Pittman all have more NFL experience than Gilbert. Pittman also has plenty of special teams experience, so there may not be room for a special teams linebacker on the team either.

Ultimately, the Lions need as many bodies as possible for training camp while Rodriguez continues to recover from season-ending ACL surgery.

This could keep Gilbert on the roster through part of training camp, but he is almost guaranteed to be cut sometime this summer.

It is time for the Lions to give up on defensive tackle Brodric Martin?

The Lions will eventually have to throw in the towel on Brodric Martin. It could happen as early as this summer.

Detroit selected defensive tackle Brodric Martin in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He is one of the rare Day 2 draft picks by Brad Holmes that looks like a clear miss.

The Lions were panned shortly after the draft for trading away three Day 3 picks to trade up for Martin. As a prospect, Martin presented plenty of upside. He has ideal size to play defensive tackle in the NFL. However, he is not very athletic and is not great about shedding blocks.

Martin has only played in five games over the past two seasons. In those games, he has logged four total tackles with just one solo tackle.

Martin’s resume alone makes him a candidate to be cut.

What makes matters worse is that Martin is facing more competition than ever on the interior of Detroit’s defensive line.

The Lions already had two great starters in Alim McNeill and D.J. Reader heading into the offseason. Detroit kept their foot on the gas, signing Roy Lopez as depth. They also drafted Tyleik Williams in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Now the Lions have arguably six players ahead of Martin on the depth chart when you add second-year player Mekhi Wingo to the list.

There is no guarantee that Martin will be cut before training camp. He could even survive training camp somehow, or make it to Detroit’s practice squad.

Regardless, it does not feel too soon to say that the Brodric Martin experiment in Detroit was a failure.