As the Lions show improvement, and appear headed to being consistently competitive, the roster decisions become more difficult,

That was the case Saturday as some veteran offensive linemen were released, along with cornerback Nathan Vasher and punter Nick Harris,.

The linemen - Kirk Chambers, Rudy Niswanger and Donald Thomas - have played a combined total of 17 seasons. But Harris was the most notable cut.

He has been the team's punter for More than seven seasons. But youth, which also means lower finances, meant his time in Detroit was up. Still, Harris left with his head held high after rookie free-agent Ryan Donahue won the job.

Said Harris, "The Lions would be getting a good punter either way. But Ryan's going to do well. He has a huge upside, awesome potential."

Harris said the team was straight with him. "They told me it came down to two things -- my contract and my age," he said. "They said they wanted to get younger and cheaper and that it had nothing to do with performance."

With Donahue making the minimum salary of $375,000, going with him takes Harris' $1.4 million salary off the books.

Leaving will be difficult, he said. "It's hard because I consider Detroit my home now. My kids were born here. I have really great connections here now with friends, relationships, church.

"I know in the NFL nothing lasts forever. I just didn't expect it to end so quickly here."

He wanted to make sure he exited being positive.

He said, "I had a good career here and I felt it went well (during the preseason). Being in the NFL, I know how it works and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Don't depict me as sour grapes or being bitter in any way, because I am really not. When I got cut in Cincinnati, I came here and things turned out great. I am optimistic that something good will come out of this."

The day after the cut to 53, the Lions picked up guard Jacques McClendon on waivers from Indianapolis and running back Keiland Williams from Washington. The arrival of Williams resulted in Aaron Brown being placed on waivers.

--There is no question the Lions are at least mildly concerned about their running game - specifically, their ability to move the ball in short-yardage situations.

Running back Jahvid Best does his best work on the edges, but he isn't built to handle repeated between-the-tackle poundings. Jerome Harrison started to show some life late in the preseason, but he's not a pure power runner either.

Their best power runner the last two seasons - veteran Maurice Morris - missed all of camp with a broken hand.

Thus, the Lions are going to take a long look at Keiland Williams, a 5-11, 230-pounder from LSU whom they claimed from the Redskins on Sunday.

"He was very productive in a role in Washington last season," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He ran the ball well and scored some touchdowns. He caught the ball and scored some touchdowns. He can be a third-down guy. There were a lot of different things we liked when we saw him."

Williams had three rushing and two receiving touchdowns in limited action last season. He lost his roster spot after the Redskins added Tim Hightower and Ray Helu during the offseason.

"We like his skill set," Schwartz said. "He's still a young guy. He got edged out there in Washington and we were lucky to get him."

Williams was in the process of being converted to fullback in Washington but Schwartz said he did not see him as a fullback.

"He's a runner," Schwartz said.

There are no fullbacks on the Lions' roster, though tight end Will Heller doubles as an H-back in certain packages.

Morris finally had the cast removed from his hand. He was able to take part in a full practice on Monday and should be ready to play on Sunday in Tampa.

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