The Detroit Lions 2023 training camp starts on July 22 (July 19 for rookies) at the Detroit Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, Michigan. That is where head coach Dan Campbell and company will figure out the Lions' roster for this season that will help the team try to get back into the postseason for the first time since 2016 and just the fourth time this century. This means there will be some tough or surprising cuts before the team kicks off Week 1 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, and players like running back Craig Reynolds, defensive end Romeo Okwara, and kicker Michael Badgley could be on the chopping block.

RB Craig Reynolds

After the Lions signed former Chicago Bears runner Dabid Montgomery and drafted Alabama back Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round, the RB room at Lions training camp suddenly got a little crowded.

The team let last year’s leading rusher, Jamaal Williams, walk to the New Orleans Saints and traded their previous running back of the future, De’Andre Swift, to the Philadelphia Eagles. That eliminated some of the RB glut on the Lions' roster, but not all.

Montgomery and Gibbs are shoo-ins for Week 1. Now the question is, who will be RB3? The Lions' roster will almost certainly only include three true halfbacks and fullback Jason Cabina. Right now, last year’s RB3, Craig Reynolds, is the third back, but that could change in Lions training camp as two younger, cheaper backs are coming for his job.

Greg Bell and Mohamed Ibrahim are the two players who are coming for Reynolds this year, Both are undrafted free agents (Bell in 2022, Ibrahim in 2023), and both have more upside than the four-year NFL veteran with just 336 career rushing yards.

Bell was a player Detroit liked last year, but a hamstring injury kept him on IR all of last season. This year, he should get a legit chance to make the team. And Ibrahim is a tough, physical runner who Dan Campbell will love. There’s a good chance one of these players makes Reynolds expendable this season.

DE Romeo Okwara

The Lions have focused a lot of money and draft capital on improving the defensive line over the last two offseasons. That’s good for the team but not great for veteran pass-rusher Romeo Okwara.

Okwara came to Detroit from the New York Giants in 2018 and had a breakout season in 2020, leading the team in sacks. Unfortunately, he tore his Achilles tendon in 2021 and has only played nine games in the last two seasons.

In that time, the Lions have found some young pass-rushing gems with Adrian Hutchinson as the No. 2 overall pick in 2022 and James Houston becoming a sixth-round steal in that draft. John Cominsky, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, and Josh Paschal, the team’s 2022 second rounder both had solid seasons last year as well.

Romeo Okwara is making $5.6 million next season, while Houston, Cominsky, and Paschcal don’t make that much combined. If the veteran can’t beat out these rookies for a starting or primary backup job in Lions training camp, it makes the most sense for the team to cut him.

K Michael Badgley

While it may not be the most interesting or exciting Lions roster battle in training camp, the competition for the kicker spot could be the most impactful this season.

Veteran Michael Badgley, the kicker with one of the best names in football (The Money Badger), is competing for the job with the two other kickers on the squad, John Parker Romo and Riley Patterson.

Patterson is a young kicker out of Memphis who has spent two stints with the Lions in his two-year NFL career. He’s a long shot to make the roster.

Romo, on the other hand, is serious competition for Badgley.

The 25-year-old, who kicked at Central Arkansas, Tulsa, and Virginia Tech in college, was one of the breakout stars of the XFL this season (as much as a kicker can be). The San Antonio Brahmas placekicker made 17 of 19 kicks, giving him the best conversion rate (89.4%) in the league on his way to making the All-XFL Team. He even set a Lumen Field record in Seattle, connecting on the longest kick in stadium history at 57 yards.

Badgley was solid for the Lions last season, hitting 83.3% of his FGs and a perfect 33-of-33 on extra points. Still, the Lions have one of the highest-paid punters in the league with Jack Fox, so saving over $600K by replacing Badgley with Romo wouldn’t be a bad thing.

So, watch out! This kicker competition is going to be a barn burner!