The Detroit Lions are still sorting through camp, and the picture is getting clearer as they get ready for a home preseason game against the Washington Commanders.
Dan Campbell said the big goals in training camp are simple: get the roster ready for the 2026 season and let competition sort out the jobs at several spots. That process has also come with a few tweaks to practice intensity and the schedule, and Campbell said he and general manager Brad Holmes are still talking through what they’re seeing.
“Yeah, I think, certainly we have conversations. But I think a lot of it, I'll give you an example.
Last night I went in there and man, we were just kind of talking about practice and talking about some of the guys and, ‘Hey, this play and that play, and man, I like where this guy (could project)'. So, we talk to one another periodically in that regard like, ‘Hey man, did you see this?’
And so we get a pretty good idea of what we think of each player, and as Brad and I always are, I mean, it's rare that we don't see the same thing," said Campbell. "I mean, we see players very much the same way.
"We respect what players do, how they play pretty much the same way, what they put on tape and so those happen. It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen.”
The current roster crunch has created more wiggle room in some areas than others. Campbell pointed to the secondary as a spot with more flexibility than the offensive line, where the path is more complicated and more time-consuming.
“There is flexibility. I feel like there's more flexibility in the secondary than the O-line right now.
It may take a little less time and work,” said Campbell. “Now, with that being said, we have still got a ways to go, but we're probably a little better equipped over there.
O-line, just kind of mentioned this. It would take time.
It would take reps, it would take time. You'd be pushing Tate (Ratledge) in, then you have got to find your guards, and then they have got to work together.
“So, it's a little bit of that. But, it doesn't mean that we don't have flexibility in the room. It's going to take a little more time, that's all.”
The deepest battles are still playing out in the receivers room, while meaningful competitions are also unfolding along the offensive line, at safety and at linebacker.
Luke Altmyer
Jabari Small
Tom Kennedy
Dominic Lovett
Cedric Wilson
Jackson Meeks
Joe Bachie
Devin Cochran
Melvin Priestly
Michael Niese
Anthony Lucas
Eric O’Neill
Mekhi Wingo
Tyre West
Dan Jackson
Bump Cooper
In Other News...
Dan Campbells Lions Bet On Roster Depth After Another O-Line Setback
The Lions spent the 2026 summer without any joint practices, and Dan Campbells reasoning came back to the same place he has leaned on so often: roster depth and internal competition. With injury concerns part of the calculation, Campbell pointed to a group he believes can push itself without outside help, including several players who made the NFLs Top 100, a sign that Detroit feels it can keep its edge in-house while sorting through camp.
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Lions Still Have Big Lineup Questions Heading Into Saturday
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The back end of the defense has only become trickier with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph on the physically unable to perform list, leaving Detroit to manage some early-season uncertainty at a premium position group. For a team that likes to build its identity on depth and versatility, these are the kinds of decisions that can shape how the first month looks, even if the final answers are still a little ways off. [Read more 🡒]