Shamari Benton

Lions Release Leshoure, Roster To 53

2:50pm: The Lions have announced their remaining cuts, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. In addition to the players listed below, the following players have been let go:

1:45pm: The Lions have let go of one of Matthew Stafford‘s favorite targets, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter) that the team has released wideout Kris Durham.

The 26-year-old finished 2013 with career-highs in receptions (38) and yards (490). He also led all of the Lions offensive skill players in snaps, even topping All-Pro Calvin Johnson.

The Lions weren’t done there, as they released an additional six players:

11:40am: The Lions’ starting running back from 2012 is no longer on the roster, as the team informed Mikel Leshoure today that he’s being waived as the 53-man cutdown deadline nears, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. While the move leaves a little dead money on Detroit’s cap, the team avoids having to pay the running back his non-guaranteed base salary for 2014.

Leshoure wasn’t the only veteran among the Lions’ cuts today. Here’s the complete running list:

Minor Moves: Sunday

We’ll round up today’s minor transactions here, with the latest news appearing at the top:

  • To open a roster spot for tight end Kyle Auffray, the Raiders have cut kicker Kevin Goessling, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).

Earlier updates

  • To fill the roster spot vacated by Ott’s departure, the Patriots have re-signed tight end Justin Jones, according to Tom Curran of CSSNE.com (Twitter link). Jones, an undrafted free agent, had been released a week ago.
  • Former Illinois receiver Steve Hull signed on with the Saints as a undrafted free agent just three months ago, but he has decided to end his playing career. Hull posted the news himself on his Instagram account.
  • The Patriots have waived long snapper Tyler Ott, an 2014 undrafted free agent out of Harvard, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Veteran Danny Aiken is now the only LS on New England’s roster.
  • The Bengals have waived OT Chandler Burden, tweets Coley Harvey of ESPN.com.
  • Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Colts have cut running back Davin Meggett and signed running back Deji Karim.
  • The Lions have signed linebacker Shamari Benton and waived linebacker Justin Jackson, reports Wilson (Twitter links).
  • Wilson tweets that the Chiefs have cut Rokevious Watkins from the reserve non-football injury list.