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Lions cut Luke Altmyer, opening door for Josh Dobbs to be backup QB
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- Lions cut Luke Altmyer, opening door for Josh Dobbs to be backup QB
The Detroit Lions are waiving undrafted rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer on Sunday, Aug. 30, as they cut their roster to 53 players on cutdown day , paving the way for veteran Josh Dobbs to begin the season as Jared Goff 's top backup.
The Ringer first reported the news.
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Altmyer completed 29 of 46 passes (63%) for 271 yards with one touchdown while starting two of the Lions ' three preseason games.
Altmyer committed five turnovers in the preseason – he threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles – but showed promise while taking second-team reps for most of training camp.
Luke Altmyer of Detroit Lions celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
"We like Luke," Lions coach Dan Campbell said early in training camp. "Luke is growing, Luke is getting better, he just needs reps. I mean, he needs a million reps. But the reps that he has gotten to this point, he has improved and so we like him."
Dobbs, who signed in early August after Teddy Bridgewater retired , completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) this preseason with two touchdowns and one interception. He was impressive in the Lions' preseason finale Saturday, Aug. 30 , when he completed 15 of 19 passes and led three touchdown drives in two quarters against the Indianapolis Colts .
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The Lions have employed a veteran as their No. 2 quarterback most of the past five seasons and Campbell said this week that was his preference this year.
"You would like that because those guys have played, there's real reps," he said. "They've been under real fire in real football games and that is important. But – 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."
The Lions gave Altmyer a $10,000 signing bonus and base salary guarantee of $247,500 – the practice squad salary for 2026 – when they signed him out of Illinois after the draft. He is expected to stay on the practice squad if he clears waivers.
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions cut Luke Altmyer, opening door for Josh Dobbs to be backup QB
