Lions News

[Iron Lion]

I don't know why Campbell loves those "cerebral" guys that simply don't have the arm talent to actually play the position, but here we are. *sigh*

Couldn't agree more. And finally he let Cabinda go after far too long. While I disagree with keeping Sudfeld, and as strange as it feels to say this, I 100% trust this coaching staff and front office.

[chemiclord]

On one hand, I get how a lot of coaches (and Campbell is no exception) are focused on practicing the right way, doing the little things, etc... etc...

But both times Hooker and Sudfeld have been on the field, Hooker has been the better guy who has been able to get more done.Like, it would be one thing if Sudfeld was playing clean ball of the "check down" variety because he has no reliable range past 25 yards or so. But he's not! He's turning the ball over and missing passes left and right, honestly worse than Hooker is!

At some point, if Goff (knock on wood) goes down, I want the better guy on the field on the field.

[Mainevent]

Hooker brings the element of the run too, which becomes a change up for defenses that aren’t used to that. Goff goes down for an extended period, they are fucked )like most teams). But at least with Hooker there’s the potential for a Dobbs-like couple game run where he makes just enough plays that they can hold the fort in the event Goff is out for a shot bit. Sudfield makes zero plays.

[CGVT]

I think you all are reading too much into it. This was the plan all along. They expected Hooker to be the guy, but in keeping with the Lions' new philosophy they need (ed) him to earn it. Add that to the fact that they want to make sure that he is not set up to fail and you see what you see with Hooker.

[froot loops]

The Lion offense is cerebral, it needs a cerebral quarterback. It's a lot of option routes. Don't worry Hooker will be the backup and Sudfeld will be on the practice squad but it is still going to take time for Hooker to master the offense.

[whatever_gong82]

Pride Of Detroit Direct
By Jeremy Reisman





While training camp technically ended last week with the final practice open to public, the Detroit Lions have two more media-facing practices before their preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tuesday was the first of those practices, and there was a lot going on this gusty, overcast afternoon.

On today’s training camp recap video–the penultimate one of camp–we break down a ton of news and updates from Allen Park, including injury news, an update on the WR3 battle, and standouts from practice.


Here’s a breakdown of topics from today’s show.



1:00 – Injury updates: Good news on Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Terrion Arnold, etc.

2:00 – DJ Reader coming off PUP?

4:30 – A new starter at right guard with Kevin Zeitler still sidelines

9:40 – An update on WR3: Kalif Raymond, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Daurice Fountain, and Isaiah Williams

15:55 – The backup QB situation: Why Nate Sudfeld is No. 2, but I still think the smart option would be to cut him.

21:00 – Standouts from practice

26:30 – Situational drills to end practice

Enjoy the video, thank you for your support, and we’ll see you for the final video of the series on Wednesday.


 

[whatever_gong82]

Niyo: When opportunity knocks, Lions willing to listen


John Niyo
The Detroit News

Paywall article from yesterday's Detroit News.



Allen Park — Isaac Ukwu says he hasn’t watched the Lions’ featured episodes on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” from a couple of years ago.

But it’s not for a lack of effort.

“When I got signed by the Lions, I tried to watch the season, but it wasn't on HBO anymore,” laughed Ukwu, the undrafted rookie edge rusher who is making a surprising push for a roster spot in Detroit this summer.

Yet while Ukwu admits he doesn’t know exactly what to expect next week, when the Lions — like every NFL team — are forced to pare down their training camp roster from 90 players to a final 53 ahead of the regular season, it’s not as if he’s completely in the dark.

Detroit Lions undrafted player Isaac Ukwu.jpg

“Well, I have an idea of what’s coming,” he said, “but I haven’t been able to see it.”

He hasn’t seen the emotional epsiode from 2022 where HBO’s cameras captured the difficult conversations head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes had with players like Dan Skipper, Jarrad Davis, Tom Kennedy and Godwin Igwebuike to tell them they’d been cut.

“I hope you get another shot, and I hope we’re not playing against you,” Campbell told Igwebuike in that final show two summers ago. “But if you do, I hope you give us hell.”


And it is a hell of a thing, all the drama that unfolds once the preseason ends — the Lions will finish Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field — and the real football begins. It’s one of the reasons that “Hard Knocks” series has been so successful for more than two decades now, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at camp, but also a peek behind the curtain as NFL decision-makers shape their rosters.

At this point in the preseason, everyone knows who the starters are, for the most part. That’s particularly true in Detroit, where the reigning NFC North champs boast one of the league’s most talented lineups. Still, there are decisions to be made and jobs to be won — or lost — over the next several days.


“Yeah, Brad and I were talking yesterday, we had another evaluation with the coaches (and) personnel department,” Campbell said Tuesday, while estimating that there were a handful of roster spots — “five or six, give or take” — still up for grabs.

“And I told the team this morning, for a number of those guys, there’s still open spots here,” Campbell added. “So if you want it, go get it.”


'He just shows up'

That goes for everybody, too. Veterans and rookies, drafted or undrafted. The Lions, in fact, have had at least one undrafted rookie make the Week 1 roster for 14 consecutive seasons, dating to 2010.

That streak could be in jeopardy this year, but Campbell did single out one player Tuesday before practice “as an example of some guys that we’ve got our eyes on” and a reminder of what’s still possible. Even here, and now, with a roster that’s much tougher to make than many of those were over the last decade and a half in Detroit.


“I just bring up a guy like Ukwu, man: When he got in here in the spring, he was last on the depth chart,” Campbell said. “It was, ‘Well, where can this guy play? He’s not the biggest guy. He’s not really a SAM (linebacker). Is he a defensive end?’ And he has just steadily gotten better, and better, and better. He plays much bigger than he is. He plays longer than his length says. Every time we give him an opportunity, he just shows up.”

Isaac Ukwu and Brodric Martin_Detroit Lions.jpg

Ukwu showed up in Allen Park this spring as one of the older rookies you’ll find. The 25-year-old from the Washington, D.C., area, spent five years at James Madison, where he suffered a torn ACL in back-to-back years in 2019 and ’20. But after an impressive senior season (7½ sacks, 10½ TFLs) in the Sun Belt, he decided to enter the portal as a grad transfer in the spring of 2023, hoping to land at a bigger program in the ACC. Instead, he was surprised to find immediate interest from SEC schools — Mississippi, Auburn and Missouri were the first to call — and ultimately landed at Ole Miss, where he began the season as a starting outside linebacker and ended it as a starter at defensive end.


“Honestly, I feel like being able to go into the SEC and play against that better competition and play against a lot of guys who I'm going to be playing against in the league. I think it was good for me,” said Ukwu, who went undrafted in April but quickly agreed to a deal with the Lions, earning a $10,000 signing bonus and a reported $25,000 in guaranteed salary.

That’s the only guarantee he got, however. The Lions already had a stacked roster on the defensive line, and while there were question marks on the edge beyond Aidan Hutchinson, the 6-foot-3, 258-pound Ukwu knew where he stood in the initial pecking order.


“Like most undrafted players, you start at the bottom of the roster and then you just try and work your way up,” he said. “And really, it’s tough in the beginning, because you’re not getting a lot of reps and stuff like that.”

But there were opportunities in the spring for the likes of Ukwu, Mathieu Betts and Mitchell Agude, especially with newly-signed starter Marcus Davenport and James Houston still working their way back from injuries last season. And by all accounts, Ukwu has made the most of his reps throughout the spring and summer.



Seizing the opportunity

Aaron Glenn, the Lions’ defensive coordinator, called him a “pleasant surprise” earlier this preseason. And last week Campbell was raving about how Ukwu, who was busy working out with rookie defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo and a few others after practice ended, had “caught our eyes” in camp.

“I mean, every day he makes a play,” Campbell said. “He’s not 100% healthy right now, but he’s out there practicing, and he just keeps going and it’s not really slowing him down.”


It didn’t in Saturday’s preseason win in Kansas City, either. Ukwu limped off the field in the first quarter of that game after taking a chop block from rookie tackle Kingsley Suamataia. But he returned to action after a sideline exam, and notched his second sack in as many games late in the third quarter as the Lions rallied.

“I mean, I’d be lying if I said this is what I expected,” Ukwu said. “But I wouldn't say I impressed myself, either. Because I knew I was a good player.”


Good enough to make the 53-man roster? That still seems like a bit of a reach for Ukwu, despite the fact he has played more defensive snaps this preseason than any other Lions defender. But just the fact he has put himself in the conversation is a credit to his faith, his even-keeled demeanor and, perhaps, the place he decided to begin his NFL journey.

“When you go to the league, you hear all the horror stories and lot of stuff is out of your control,” Ukwu said. “But I’m definitely happy. I mean, I’m excited to be able to play. And, really, I think it's a testament to the Lions and the opportunity they give players.”


john.niyo@detroitnews.com

@JohnNiyo

[whatever_gong82]

Pressers and scrums: Lions' Campbell clarifies Raymond is team's No. 3 receiver

Justin Rogers
Aug 20


Allen Park — If you’ve been following along in the chat — a bonus function for subscribers — there’s been several questions about why Kalif Raymond isn’t talked about as the Detroit Lions’ No. 3 receiver.

All offseason, up to present day, the discourse has centered around which receiver would step up to win the No. 3 job. But some, self included, wondered why Raymond wasn’t considered that guy.


I think part it goes back to comments made by offensive coordinator Ben Johnson earlier this month. When asked for the blueprint he was looking for at that spot, Johnson started by saying, “smart and reliable.”

Well, that safely describes how the organization feels about Raymond. But then the coordinator added one more line, “If we had to be picky, we want a little bit of length, just so it rounds out those three guys that we’re anticipating entering the season with.”

That left us closely examining whether Donovan Peoples-Jones, Daurice Fountain or Kaden Davis would step up to fill the void created by Josh Reynolds’ departure. But while that trio battled inconsistency, the steady and reliable Raymond has been there all along.


So on Monday, I came to Dan Campbell’s press conference intent on getting clarity, asking the coach directly why Raymond isn’t viewed as the team’s No. 3. The question seemed to surprise Campbell.

“I hope I haven’t been the one who (was saying he wasn’t),” Campbell said. “He is receiver three right now. The idea has always been we love Leaf as a returner and Leaf brings a different skillset to the receiver position. He’s got a little gadgetry, he’s got some quickness underneath, and he’s a returner. To maximize both …he’s 20 plays a game, 25 plays a game.


“We’d rather not play him 65 plays a game, but we will if we have to,” Campbell said. “So yeah, he’s receiver three right now and that’s fine. But that’s why it would be nice to have somebody step up, because that just helps the room, and I think it makes everybody a little more potent. That’s all.”

That’s an endorsement, even if it’s a limited one. But the math does work. The Lions don’t need their third wide receiver to play 65 snaps per week. At that rate, across a 17-game schedule, that would be close to a 95% workload. In reality, the team will have a third receiver on the field closer to 40 snaps, and it won’t be the same guy at that spot in every package.


The last two seasons, Raymond has averaged 26.6 snaps per game. If he maintains that pace, logging around 450 in 2024, there’s a good chance he finishes with the third-biggest workload for a Lions receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.


I did follow up with Campbell, asking whether he felt comfortable with that trio filling the X, Y and Z roles within the scheme.

“Absolutely,” Campbell said. “…There's enough flexibility in those three receivers, between Saint, Jamo, and Leaf, you can do what you need to do. It’s just about, there we go, you just don’t want to overload guys. That’s all.”


● Campbell provided a lot of positive updates on the roster’s injured players, starting with running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who has been sidelined the past week with a hamstring strain.

“Our plan is to get him going next week,” Campbell said. “He’s trending the right way and we’re hoping (he’ll be ready) the day after the Pittsburgh game.”

The Pittsburgh game, of course, is the team’s preseason finale, which will take place Saturday afternoon at Ford Field.

Campbell went on to say the team expected to get a number of injured players back next week, including Sam LaPorta, Malcolm Rodriguez, Kevin Zeitler and Terrion Arnold.


“I think there’s a chance we could get (Arnold) back middle of the week next week,” Campbell said. “He’ll get a practice before the guys are on their break, but he’s trending the right way. I’m not concerned. As of right now, I think there’s a good chance we’re going to have most of our guys ready for Week 1.”

Additionally, Campbell hinted the team might pull defensive tackle DJ Reader off the physically unable to perform list next week. That doesn’t mean he’d be ready for the season opener against the Rams, but by avoiding the PUP list to start the season, he would be eligible to practice and return to action before Week 5, which has been his stated goal.


● One player who doesn’t appear to be as close to returning is rookie guard Christian Mahogany. He’s still getting physically acclimated after missing the first three weeks of camp with an unspecified illness.

“He’s been down there with (director of sports performance) Mike Clark and (head of strength & conditioning) Josh Schuler and those guys, just trying to get his legs back under him — his conditioning, strength level and he’s trending the right way,” Campbell said. “I can’t give you a timetable but he’s doing well. It’s good to have him here.”

Mahogany was spotted working with a trainer during the early portion of Tuesday’s practice, which is another positive step for the sixth-round draft pick.

He is currently on the non-football injury list, and if he starts the regular season with that designation, he would be required to miss the first four games.


● After missing 12 games his first two seasons, defensive lineman Josh Paschal has committed to a Pilates and stretching routine in search of improved durability.

Potentially more important than that proactive alteration to his approach is a change to his mentality. With the help of position coach Terrell Williams, the 2022 second-round draft pick feels he’s discovered his identity as a player.

“I’m a power guy,” Paschal said. “I’m a power rusher. I’m a strong guy, a bigger end and I play with power. I’m that rough, dirty guy.”


Paschal said he was previously trying to be jack of all trades, which left him a master of none. Now, instead of having a skill set that’s a mile wide and an inch deep, he’s leaning into his strengths, hoping it will lead to more consistent production.

“I was just trying to do a little bit of everything,” he said. “I feel like I saw a lot of guys with different speed moves that I tried to incorporate into my game. Of course it’s good to have a little bit of balance, but you have to have something that your identity is. You have to have one thing that you know, for sure, that you can lay back on.

“…I feel like every player has an identity,” Paschal said. “I just had to embrace that. That has gave me the confidence to go out here so far in camp and play with that identity, to be that physical player. I’m just excited for this upcoming season to show that.”



● When discussing players making a push for a roster spot, Campbell specifically highlighted undrafted rookie edge rusher Isaac Ukwu.

“When he got in here in the spring, he was last on the depth chart,” Campbell said. “It was, ‘Well where can this guy play?’ He’s not the biggest guy. He’s not really a SAM. Is he a defensive end?’

“He’s just steadily gotten better, and better, and better, and he plays much bigger than he is,” Campbell said. “He plays longer than his length says. Every time we give him an opportunity, he just shows up. He’s just an example of some guys that we’ve got our eyes on.”


In many ways, it’s remarkable Ukwu has made it this far. Not only did he start his college career at James Madison, but he missed large chunks of consecutive seasons after tearing each of his ACLs.

“My thing was if I came back and I sucked, yeah, I would have gave it up,” Ukwu said about whether he considered quitting. “But I felt like I could still play, so I didn't give it up. If I had come back and been trash, I would have probably hung it up.”


After signing with the Lions, Ukwu tried to watch the team’s appearance on ‘Hard Knocks’ from last season, but couldn’t find it in HBO’s archives. That means he didn’t get a chance to watch how next week’s roster cutdown day might look. Still, he has a pretty good idea, and he’s not going to lose sleep over it.

“All I can do is go out there and play and go my hardest, try and make plays on the field, and if I make it, that's great,” he said. “If I don't make it, at least I can know I gave it my all and I have no regrets.”


● The Lions placed two more veterans on injured reserve Tuesday, ending the chances linebacker Malik Jefferson or wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith play for the team in 2024.

To add some linebacker depth, the team signed Joel Iyiegbuniwe, a former fourth-round pick for the Chicago Bears who most recently played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL.


Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

X: Justin_Rogers

[ghandi]

Yeah but why waste a roster spot on Sudfeld? That spot could be used so much better....No one in the league will pick up Sudfeld, I dont care how smart he is...He is an awful passer and little threat with his feet....Also its not like he is 21 years old...He is 30 and has done nothing in the NFL.

[froot loops]

Yeah but why waste a roster spot on Sudfeld? That spot could be used so much better....No one in the league will pick up Sudfeld, I dont care how smart he is...He is an awful passer and little threat with his feet....Also its not like he is 21 years old...He is 30 and has done nothing in the NFL.

He is going to be on the practice squad and you can elevate quarterbacks an unlimited amount of times during the season

[CGVT]

He is going to be on the practice squad and you can elevate quarterbacks an unlimited amount of times during the season

Yeah, I think this is a "Move along. Nothing to see here" issue.

[Topweasel]

Yeah but why waste a roster spot on Sudfeld? That spot could be used so much better....No one in the league will pick up Sudfeld, I dont care how smart he is...He is an awful passer and little threat with his feet....Also its not like he is 21 years old...He is 30 and has done nothing in the NFL.

This is the theory I can up with. Until Hooker is ready to use the whole playbook, they will run with Sudfeld as the backup, because they know he knows the whole game plan. If Goff is going to be out an extended period of time, Hooker would go into the next game as a starter, getting all reps, key plays and formations will be installed and he will go over the entire game plan. And they have enough time to figure out what Hooker is good with and shrink the playbook.

They don't want the backup to be someone they have to adjust to in real time to figure out what they know. Let Sudfeld be responsible for 10-15 plays and let Hooker have a full week to take the lead.

I think that's why Dan was so big on the time lost in practice by Hooker. Maybe that week, specially working him in as the starter (the plan), for these two weeks might have given them the confidence to run him as QB2. Once the season starts the reps go waaaaay down for the backups. Maybe they will make the move during the season. But I think they keep Sudfeld when they get it down to 53.

[Blue Lagoon58]

Yeah, I think this is a "Move along. Nothing to see here" issue.

It is, LOL. Hooker would have started the KC game had he practice all week leading up to it. Nothing burger.

[ghandi]

A post on Twitter today says Penei Sewall left practice with a foot injury and limped to the locker to be evaluated...Hopefully not too serious...he would be a huge loss.

[-Deborah-]

Crap.