Detroit Lions Roster: Is It Time To Cut Ties With Kevin Smith?

With cut day looming around the corner, Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has some tough roster decisions to make. 

The decision on who to keep at running back is probably the most difficult. 

On Saturday night versus the Cleveland Browns, Jahvid Best left no doubt as to whom the starter at the position should be.  The way he performed was like magic not seen around these parts since the runner that shall not be named donned the Honolulu blue and silver. 

I am sure even the handful of fans that doubted if the Lions made the right move by trading up to get the lightning quick Best have now figured out that Martin Mayhew and company made the right decision there.

The starter at fullback is also unquestioned, as Jerome Felton has done nothing but cement his status there during training camp and the preseason.

This leaves five contenders for two or possibly three spots on the roster.  Those players are Aaron Brown, Dede Dorsey, Maurice Morris, Jake Nordin, and Kevin Smith. 

The easy one to rule out for a roster spot is Jake Nordin.  Although he is gifted and can play multiple positions, there just isn’t room on the roster for two fullbacks. 

Maurice Morris is doing exactly what he did last year. 

When called upon, all he does is get yards.  He is the oldest of the bunch at 30 years of age, but has repeatedly proven to be a capable backup. 

In 2009, when Kevin Smith was lost for the year he filled in admirably and the Lions’ run game improved with his increased playing time.

Dede Dorsey and Aaron Brown have both shown flashes in the preseason.  Dorsey did it against the Broncos, and Brown followed that up with a two touchdown performance against the Browns. 

Brown is also valuable because he is a contributor on special teams.

Smith on the other hand has given Lion fans nothing to be excited about.  With Jahvid Best in the lineup it took the Lions three plays to score a touchdown, when he was replaced by Smith the offense bogged down.

Smith fumbled the ball on his third carry of the game.  That was returned for a touchdown.  His stat line for the game was eight carries for 20 yards.  That stat line looks eerily similar to a typical Smith performance. 

Many want to blame the offensive line for the Lions’ recent short comings in the run game, but why can they open up holes for Best and all of the sudden forget how to block when Smith is in the game? 

The fact is Smith lacks the burst needed to be an effective runner.  He may be good for a couple of yards but is not quick enough to avoid the second wave of defenses.  This was his issue coming out of college and the reason he lasted until the third round of the draft.

It is likely that some will point out that he is still recovering from a gruesome knee injury.  While that may be true, he does not look any different than he did before he injured his knee.

One advantage that Smith has over the others is his ability to catch the ball and run routes as well as some receivers do.  I don’t know if that is good enough to warrant a roster spot, especially in light of the fact that Best catches the ball just as well.

Ten days ago I wrote an article predicting what the Lions’ roster will look like when they step on the field in Chicago.  At that time I felt that Kevin Smith was assured of a roster spot.  At this time I can say that he would fall more into the "on the bubble" category. 

Currently I would place the odds at Smith making the final roster at 70-30.

He is still a young player and a third round draft pick.  It is possible that the Lions could try to trade him, but I don’t see much more than a seventh rounder or possible a conditional sixth, coming back the Lions’ way if that were to happen. 

It will be interesting to see how much playing time Smith gets in the fourth preseason game.  Whatever playing time he does get he needs to show some kind of burst to convince the Lions that he is a commodity they need hold on to. 

At the end of the day it is decisions like these that coaches and general managers get paid to make.  The Lions’ brain trust has made enough good decisions lately to make fans believe that they will do so again.