How Luke Altmyer can win QB2 job in Lions' preseason finale

The battle at QB2 isn't over. And the Lions' final preseason game could go a long way toward deciding it, with cut day on Sunday.

Josh Dobbs remains the favorite given his extensive NFL experience. But rookie Luke Altmyer has been the better quarterback in camp.

Dobbs has played in 27 career games, with 15 starts. He's spent time with nine different teams, including a brief stint with the Lions in 2022. More notably, he made eight starts for the Cardinals in 2023 under then-offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, now the OC in Detroit. That's valuable experience in Petzing's system.

The Lions have always had a veteran behind Jared Goff, from Teddy Bridgewater to Kyle Allen to Nate Sudfeld. They place a lot of value on the backup serving as an extra set of eyes for Goff and the rest of the offense, both during games and in the meeting room. But they aren't necessarily glued to that.

"I mean, you would like that because those guys have played, those are real reps, they've been under real fire in real football games, and that is important," said Campbell. "But that's not the end-all, be-all either. If you think there's somebody to work with here and that he's shown enough progress and he's only going to get better, then we don't close our eyes to that either."

Dobbs hasn't played particularly well in practice, and he committed two turnovers while starting the Lions' second preseason game last week. The first, a fumble on a blindside hit after a blown block, wasn't his fault. The other, an interception on an ill-advised throw over the middle, was entirely on Dobbs.

Altmyer, meanwhile, has taken good care of the ball and shown the ability to extend plays with his legs and make some tough throws. He's a little small for the position at 6'1, and he did put two balls on the ground on muffed snaps in Thursday's scrimmage. That won't help his case.

But Altmyer recovered one of the fumbles and had the poise to salvage the play and throw for a first down. With a strong performance Saturday against the Colts, Altmyer could force the Lions into a very tough decision.

Asked what Altmeyer needs to show in the preseason finale to boost his roster chances, Campbell said, "Consistency."

"Just play good, smart football. We don't need some wild throws. Be able to run the offense, be efficient, make smart decisions, even if that means that you're punting the ball. That'll be the most important thing. We don't want the wild plays and then there's an ill-advised throw across the middle for an interception. Those won't get it done.

"Just be smart, take what's there, run the offense and that'll go a long way. Consistency."

The other consideration for the Lions is which quarterback is more likely to be claimed by another team if he gets cut. Ideally, they'd keep both, by bringing one back on the practice squad.

Dobbs, given his experience, feels like the clearer candidate to get claimed than Altmyer, the undrafted rookie. In the end, that might sway the Lions toward keeping Dobbs and trying to sneak Altmyer back on the practice squad.