INDIANAPOLIS — Last year, immediately after the Super Bowl, the Lions dumped a number of players. This year they are cutting the roster with a scalpel, not an ax.

There’s a good reason for that according to Martin Mayhew, the Lions general manager.

“The team we have now (are) guys that I brought in, guys that I like for whatever reason, our coaching staff likes, ‘’ Mayhew said today. “We brought them in together. We don’t have as many holdovers from the previous regime and they have been guys we’re comfortable playing with.”

Pretty simple, but an accurate description.