Transaction: Lions Cut Four After Draft and UDFA Signings

As exciting as the NFL Draft is every year, the hard reality is that new players being drafted and signed as UDFAs will lead to some churning at the bottom of the roster. Going into the draft, the Lion had 78 players under contract, and with Nine draft picks and seven UDFAs signed, that left the team four rosters slots over the off season max of 80 players.

Knowing that and who was drafted and signed, the following four players were released by the team earlier today:

Tra Carson RB - No shock that Carson was let go, as he was an emergency fill-in last season when injuries struck. He played in one game (12-34 2.8 YPC) and wasn't effective then got hurt. His fate was sealed when the Lions drafted D'Andre Swift in Rd 2 and then picked up Jason Huntley with their 2nd pick in rd. 5.

Casey Tucker OG - Tucker was on and off the Lions Practice Squad two different times last year as the Lions were interested enough to keep him around to see if he would develop. He ultimately signed a reserve/futures contract on 12/30/19, but after drafting Jonah Jackson (Rd. 3b) and Logan Stenberg (Rd. 4), Tucker was caught in a numbers game that led to his release today.

Matt Wile P - Much like Carson, Wile was brought onto the team (albeit the Practice Squad) last fall when Sam Martin was having some injury issues in early November. He was never promoted to the active roster, and hasn't been a full-time punter in the NFL since 2018 with the Vikings, ultimately getting cut in favor of P Matt Fox in December. The Lions then signed Wile back on 12/30/19 to a Reserve/Futures deal to compete with Fox. However the Lions signed UDFA Aussie Punter Arryn Siposs from Auburn as an UDFA, leading to Wile's cut today.

James Fisher LS - Fisher was signed on 12/30/19 to a reserve/Futures contract to compete with Don Muhlbach yo be the team's Long Snapper in 2020-20921, However, one does not simply compete with Muhlbach, and with the Lions signing UDFA LS Steven Wrirtel from Iowa State, Fisher was the odd man out.