Detroit Lions release RB Benny Snell

The Detroit Lions have cut running back Benny Snell. Snell was signed by the Lions earlier this month after Justin Jackson retired.

He spent the previous four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Snell was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Kentucky by the Steelers with the No. 122 overall selection.

The 5-foot-10 running back played in 63 games for Pittsburgh over those four seasons with five starts. He has rushed the ball 275 times for 982 yards and seven touchdowns.

Snell was a star for the Wildcats in the SEC. He rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his three college seasons, earning All-SEC first team honors twice and garnering third-team All-American honors as a junior.

Benny Snell and Tashawn Manning both don’t make 53 man final roster

Manning likely to be brought back on the Practice Squad

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) August 29, 2023

The Lions running back room now have four players in it: Jahmyr Gibbs, Jermar Jefferson, David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds.

Gibbs was one of the team’s first round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Lions picked him with the No. 12 overall pick. Montgomery signed a  three-year, $18 million deal with the team in the offseason after four seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Expectations are high for the Lions as they head into the 2023 regular season. Star EDGE Aidan Hutchinson talked with Dan Patrick on the The Rich Eisen Show earlier this month about the opportunities that awaits Detroit if it lives up to the hype when games start.

“It’s an opportunity that we have right in front of us,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve got some primetime games this year. I mean, last year, we were fighting to get a primetime game. We finally got one by the end of the year. I love these primetime games and I love being in the mix.”

Other players cut over the last few days by the Lions

Benny Snell is one of the last causalities of the Lions’ need to trim the roster down to 53 players but he is far from the first.

Among the players also cut Tuesday are rookie cornerback Starling Thomas V, rookie safety Brandon Joseph, tight end Darrell Daniels and kicker Parker Romo.

There were also other players cut over the last few days.

Players released earlier in the week include:

• Christian Covington, DL
• Bobby Hart, OL
• Germain Ifedi, OL
• Jason Moore, WR
• Devine Ozigbo, RB
• Trinity Benson, WR
• Avery Davis, WR
• Obinna Eze, OL
• Daniel Helm, TE
• Alex Mollette, OL
• Scott Nelson, S
• Darrin Paulo, OL
• Colby Richardson, CB