The Detroit Lions have made their final moves ahead of the 2024 NFL season by setting their initial 53-man roster. However, there is still one vacant spot remaining, allowing the team to potentially add a veteran player with four or more years of experience during the claiming period.

In order to make room for their selection, the Lions placed defensive tackle Brodric Martin and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley on injured reserve. Additionally, 13 players were released, while 23 were waived (including one injured) and offensive lineman Christian Mahogany was placed on the non-football injury list.

One notable observation on the Lions' roster is the thin depth at the wide receiver position. Currently, they only have four receivers, whereas most NFL teams typically carry five or six. As a result, it is expected that the Lions will look to add a player to this position in the upcoming days. Rumors suggest that the team is looking to sign former Denver Broncos receiver Tim Patrick to their practice squad, despite his injury history.

The Lions' top three receivers heading into the season are Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond, with undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams making the cut at the No. 4 spot. However, the team lacks size at the position and does not have a receiver known for their contributions on coverage teams.

At the quarterback position, the Lions decided to keep only two players. Jared Goff remains the starter, while Hendon Hooker is set to serve as the backup. The team released Nate Sudfeld and waived Jake Fromm, opting to retain Parker Hesse as their third tight end over James Mitchell.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Lions have a total of 26 players, with nine defensive linemen, six linebackers, and 11 defensive backs. One player of note is John Cominsky, who is currently on the active roster but may potentially be placed on injured reserve, thus opening up a second roster spot.

It is worth mentioning that NFL teams have the option to place two players on injured reserve on cut-down day who can potentially return during the season. Additionally, teams can designate six other players to return from injured reserve throughout the year.

Among the surprises in Tuesday's cuts were undrafted rookie pass rusher Isaac Ukwu, who had an impressive preseason with three sacks in as many games, as well as defensive tackle Kyle Peko and safety C.J. Moore, who was one of the Lions' top special-teams players.

Ultimately, the Lions decided to keep undrafted rookie safety Loren Strickland and second-year safety Brandon Joseph as backup defensive backs, along with guard Michael Niese as a 10th lineman.

With the roster finalized, the Lions now have one open spot that they can fill during the claiming period. Although they will be near the bottom of the waiver wire pecking order, they have the opportunity to add a veteran presence to the team. It remains to be seen which player the Lions will target to complete their roster ahead of the upcoming season.