When Anthony Zettel played in the fourth quarter of the Detroit The last preseason game of the Lions, this seemed like a worrying sign for the third defensive end.

Of course, the Lions decided to do without Zettel on Wednesday, cutting the 2016 sixth-round pick and claiming defensive end of the New York Giants Romeo Okwara.

Zettel, who finished second in the Lions with 6.5 sacks last season, appeared to have a reserve ticket in late fall after doing the initial training of 53 players last weekend.

He practiced with the Lions on Monday and Wednesday and was briefly in the locker room Wednesday afternoon during the media.

Okwara played 16 games with four starts as a rookie in 2016, but was used sparingly last year. He has an NFL bag to his credit, but the Lions saw him first-hand in joint trials with the Giants last month.

Zettel, a native of Michigan, played the last two defensive ends in his two seasons in Detroit, but he was flawed for the defense of first year coach Matt Patricia.

He is the third pick for 2016 with which Lions have split in recent days. Offensive Dwayne Washington and quarterback Jake Rudock were suspended on Saturday, but Rudock signed a new contract.

Of the 10 Lions choices, Bob Quinn was the first Lions General Manager. half are no longer on the list of 53 players.

Of those remaining, Taylor Decker's first round pick and Graham Glasgow's third round are the only ones to occupy important roles, respectively as left and center forward. A & n Shawn Robinson (second round), Miles Killebrew (fourth) and Joe Dahl (fifth) remain on the list of substitutes.

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