Cornerback Bill Bentley couldn’t do many team activities during the Detroit Lions' offseason workouts.
So after three injury-filled seasons, including a torn ACL last year in the season opener against the New York Giants, the team waived Bentley on Thursday following the final practice of minicamp.
Bentley, who was selected in the third round by Detroit out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2012, won the starting nickel job going into the 2014 season but lasted less than a half before being injured. He played in 18 out of 49 possible games for Detroit, making 43 tackles with no interceptions.
Cutting Bentley means the Lions have only four players left from their 2012 draft class: offensive tackle Riley Reiff, wide receiver Ryan Broyles, and linebackers Tahir Whitehead and Travis Lewis.
Of those four, only Whitehead and Reiff are locks or close to locks to be with Detroit in 2015. It also means the Lions have only four players left on the roster from their 2010, 2011 and 2012 draft classes.
Bentley’s injury history did him in with Detroit. He couldn’t stay on the field -- including this spring as he rehabbed his ACL -- and in the meantime the Lions drafted three cornerbacks in two years to essentially try to take his job.
The team drafted Nevin Lawson, who is also coming back from injury, in the fourth round in 2014 and took Alex Carter and Quandre Diggs this year. Diggs had a fantastic spring, and his emergence likely made it easier for the team to feel comfortable with their options minus Bentley.
Diggs has placed himself in a position where he could end up winning the starting or top reserve role at the nickel by the time the Lions open the regular season in September.
For now, this leaves Detroit with 88 players on the roster following the waiving of running back Rasheed Williams on Wednesday.
