This week’s defensive roster bubble winners for the Detroit Lions are clear: Devin White and Nick Whiteside. With a massive 25 players fighting for spots on defense alone, the competition is absolutely brutal, and our weekly predictions are swinging wildly. But these two just dropped a statement.
Defensive Line Chaos: Hassanein Rising, Onwuzurike On The Bubble
The defensive end position is getting settled, fast. Ahmed Hassanein continues his impressive camp, pulling in 11 “IN” votes this week, a jump of one. The staff is totally aligned on this guy. Meanwhile, Payton Turner remains sidelined with an injury, holding at 0 votes. It’s tough, but injuries change everything on that bubble.
Over at defensive tackle, things are way more volatile. Levi Onwuzurike, who was an “assumed in” player, just got dropped to the bubble with 11 votes. Why? He’s been repping with the second and third teams, way behind Alim McNeill at three-tech and even behind Tyler Lacy at big end. Despite that, our crew still has him in for now, but his spot is definitely up for grabs. Tyler Lacy held steady with 11 votes. Then there’s Skyle Gill-Howard. This dude is making moves, jumping up two votes to 10. He’s climbing the depth chart, getting reps with the first and second teams, and making plays. You love to see it when a guy earns his way up. Mekhi Wingo dropped a few votes to 2, likely because he missed a few days with an injury, though he did return to practice on Monday after votes were submitted. Chris Smith gained one vote to 5, while Tyre West and Aidan Keanaaina are holding at 0 votes.
Linebackers Are Lighting Up, White Steps Up
At linebacker, the story is Devin White. After a truly impressive first week of training camp, he’s absolutely exploded to a unanimous 11 votes, up five this week. That’s a massive jump. With Malcolm Rodriguez injured, White has stepped into that starting lineup replacement role and is just consistently making plays. It hasn’t been perfect, play-action has caught him a couple times, but he looks super comfortable as a starter.
Trevor Nowaske and Damone Clark both held steady with 10 votes each. On the other end of the spectrum, Jimmy Rolder fell three votes to 0, with staff now convinced he’ll start the season on injured reserve after his injury a couple weeks back. Troy Reeder also dropped two votes to 2, and Erick Hunter lost his lone vote from last week, now sitting at 0, same as Joe Bachie. This is what the bubble is all about: make plays, stay healthy, or get left behind.
The competition is only going to get fiercer as we push deeper into camp. These defensive spots are high-stakes, and White and Whiteside are showing everyone they want it. Can they keep this momentum going? You know we’ll be watching every snap to find out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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