With training camp and the preseason winding down, the Detroit Lions are entering that part of the calendar where roster churn starts to matter. Once teams trim to 53, there will be names available all over the league. But there’s also another route: make a move before the cuts hit.
And if the Lions want to get a little bold, they could even take a look at a few players sitting on Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears roster.
Kyler Gordon is the most obvious swing. The Bears’ starting nickel has not been back on the practice field this year after dealing with multiple injuries last season, and both Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen have sounded increasingly frustrated with the situation.
Their message has been clear enough: they can’t keep planning around a player who isn’t available. If Gordon does get healthy, though, he brings real value.
He has played outside before, both earlier in his career and in college, and the Lions could use secondary help. When he’s right, he’s the kind of defender who changes things.
The question is whether Chicago would take a fifth-round pick and just move on.
Roschon Johnson is another name that fits a Lions need in a different way. Detroit can always use more depth behind the lead back, and Johnson offers a bigger, physical style with receiving ability.
He’s a former quarterback, he’s still only two years younger than Pacheco, and he has more tread left. In Chicago, he hasn’t been unlocked yet, and he could even end up on the outside looking in if Salvon Ahmed keeps building momentum.
Right now, Johnson sits as the Bears’ RB3. A conditional sixth-rounder might be enough to pry him loose if the Bears decide they’re ready to move on from the former fourth-round pick out of Texas.
Then there’s Jamree Kromah, the kind of under-the-radar pass rusher who can sneak up on a team. Chicago brought in Marcus Davenport for depth, but Kromah flashed hard in the preseason game against the Browns.
He finished with six tackles, five solo, three tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. That kind of performance gets attention fast.
Kromah went undrafted in 2024 out of James Madison and has spent time with the Bears and Patriots without appearing in a regular-season game. Still, if the Bears keep Davenport and squeeze out Kromah, the Lions could circle back with a conditional late-round pick and try to land a rotational edge rusher who’s starting to show something.
For a division rival, that would be a sharp little piece of business.
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Former Lions DB Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Worry
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Robertson, who signed with Washington after leaving Detroit, also made clear he still holds his time with the Lions in high regard. He spoke positively about the experience and even compared the coaching styles of Dan Quinn and Dan Campbell, a reminder that this was less about animosity than a player trying to carve out his next role while showing Detroit exactly what it lost. [Read more 🡒]