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The Detroit Lions have cut quarterback Jake Rudock Patrick Onwuasor Jersey , paving the way for veteran Matt Cassel to move forward as Matthew Stafford's backup.
The Lions announced Saturday that they have cut their roster down to 53 players, waiving Rudock, defensive end Alex Barrett, wide receivers Jace Billingsley, Dontez Ford and Chris Lacy, linebackers Freddie Bishop and Darnell Sankey, cornerbacks Mike Ford and Chris Jones, defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter, safety Rolan Milligan, punter Ryan Santoso, tackle Dan Skipper and running back Dwayne Washington.
Detroit also released linebacker Jonathan Freeny Dustin Brown Jersey , center Wesley Johnson, tight end Sean McGrath and cornerback DeShawn Shead 鈥?and put running back Zach Zenner on injured reserve. Zenner hurt his back in Thursday night's preseason finale against Cleveland.
The Lions put wide receiver Andy Jones on the reserve/physically unable to perform list and waived defensive tackle Toby Johnson from injured reserve. Detroit also traded tackle Corey Robinson to the Carolina Panthers for a draft pick.
Rudock was drafted by the Lions in the sixth round out of Michigan in 2016, but he has attempted only five passes in three career NFL appearances. He played most of the first half against Cleveland on Thursday, and the Lions went into halftime trailing 25-0.
The 36-year-old Cassel has started at least one game in each of the past 10 seasons, most recently for the Tennessee Titans in 2017.
The backup quarterback spot hasn't been terribly crucial for Detroit recently. Stafford hasn't missed a start since the 2010 season.
Washington had 110 carries for the Lions over the past two seasons, but Detroit tried to bolster its running game this offseason by adding free agent LeGarrette Blount and drafting Kerryon Johnson in the second round.
Tashaun Gipson remembers his first game against Tom Brady five years ago as vividly as his last one eight months ago.
They had similar endings.
Brady threw two touchdown passes in the final 61 seconds to stun Gipson and the Cleveland Browns in 2013. The three-time league MVP tossed two scores in the final 9 minutes to defeat Gipson and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship game in January.
"There's just nothing you can do when you're playing a guy like that," said Gipson, a free safety.
The Jaguars understand that as well as anybody. They are the only AFC team that has never beaten the New England Patriots with Brady under center. Their 0-8 record includes a few tight games, several lopsided losses and, most recently, a come-from-behind gut punch that kept Jacksonville from the Super Bowl. Now Dave Robinson Jersey , the Jags believe they are overdue for a victory against one of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks.
Their next opportunity comes Sunday against the Patriots (1-0), a rematch of the conference title game. And there's no doubt the Jaguars (1-0) have had it circled on the calendar for some time.
"Jacksonville has never beaten him?" Gipson said.
Nope. Winless in eight tries.
"So, 1 of 9," he said, predicting a victory. "I like it."
Jacksonville has stewed since its last loss to New England, lamenting missed opportunities to put the Patriots away and what they insist was a bad call on linebacker Myles Jack's forced fumble and recovery.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say I've been thinking about last year's results," Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye said. "We definitely want to win against them here."
"We can use that (loss) as motivation, but we can't get that back. It's a new year. That's how it is every year. Whatever happened in the past, you forget about it. Those that hold onto it, they stay complacent or they get ahead of themselves because they're comparing to what happened last year. We can't do that."
Still, there have plenty of reminders this week.
Coach Doug Marrone has played Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" during practice; the song is a staple at Patriots home games. The Jaguars also have the Super Bowl playing repeatedly in the locker room.
Although players understand it's Week 2 and there's little at stake Ryan Dzingel Jersey , they also know what knocking off the defending AFC champs could do for a young team moving forward.
"It would definitely show that we've grown and we've gotten that little monkey off our back," Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. "I think the outside world would really see us graduating to that next stage. But we've still got 14 games to play. This isn't an end-all, be-all, but it is a meaningful game."
For the Pats, it doesn't seem to mean quite as much.
"It's going to be an emotional environment," Brady said. "I think everyone, whenever you play some of the best teams, you want to see where you're measured up to, and that defense has been ranked very high all last year, and I could see why. ... They've got a lot of very talented players, some of the guys that are probably the best at their position.
"It should be a really great game for us to go out and see what we're made of."
Here are some other things to know about the Patriots and Jaguars:
FOURNETTE SITS?
Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette expects to be a "game-time decision" because of a strained right hamstring. Fournette missed practice Wednesday and Thursday because of the injury sustained in the opener.
SPECIAL TEAMS FOCUS
The Patriots Bobby Massie Jersey , usually stout on special teams, struggled in the opener. They allowed 156 yards on kickoffs, a number way higher than special teams coach Joe Judge wants to see.
"This time of year, a lot of times it's working different combinations of players and getting guys in the right position to make plays next to one another," Judge said.
BALL SECURITY
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said there would be an extra emphasis on ball security in preparation for the Jaguars, who have scored an NFL-high nine defensive touchdowns since the start of last season.
The Patriots had three fumbles (two lost) in their opener, and Gronkowski was responsible for one of them.
"I think they get a turnover one out of every five possessions they average. That statistic right there is unbelievable," Gronkowski said. "It just shows how good of a defense they are, and you can't just go out there and just jog around. ... When you have the ball, you've got to protect it and get up the field."
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