The Detroit Lions released 21 players on Friday to reached the 53-man roster limit.
Among the cuts were punter Ryan Donahue, who lost out in the competition with Ben Graham for the job, defensive tackle Andre Fluellen and defensive end Everette Brown, both of whom had a tough job to get a spot in the strong defensive line rotation.
Donahue played in eight games last year before going down with a quad injury and he averaged 42.7 yards on 49 punts.
Fluellen played in 51 games over the past four season with Detroit and totaled 46 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks while Brown was signed in the offseason after spending the previous season with San Diego and two with Carolina.
Also released were guards Rodney Austin, Pat Boyle and Dan Gerberry, defensive ends Ugo Chinasa and Edmon McClam, wide receivers Patrick Edwards, Nate Hughes, Lance Long, Wallace Miles and Maurice Stovall, defensive tackle Tracy Robertson, tight ends Alex Gottlieb and Austin Wells, safety Reshard Langford, linebacker Carmen Messina and cornerbacks Justin Miller, Alphonso Smith and Ross Weaver.
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