The Lions brought Levi Onwuzurike back for the start of the 2026 NFL season, and even after a lost year, there’s still a real chance he carves out a role in Detroit’s front.
Onwuzurike was re-signed to a one-year deal before last season, but an ACL injury before training camp wiped out the year before it ever got going. Because of a CBA provision, his contract tolled and made him eligible to return. Detroit also kept Josh Paschal under the same rule, though the team ultimately moved on from Paschal.
For Onwuzurike, the bigger question now is what he can actually give the Lions after a career marked by interruptions. He has missed two full seasons in his first five years, including 2022 because of a back injury, and that has made it hard for him to build much consistency. Still, when he has been healthy, Detroit has seen enough to keep believing there’s something there.
Head coach Dan Campbell has been especially encouraged by what he has seen in camp.
“Yeah, he looks great. I would say when you are coming off that injury, your ability to train now, being healthy basically, right?
So, now you're kind of out of that rehab mode and now you're into truly strength, conditioning, training, power, explosion, all of it," Campbell said. "So, he's just continued that route.
And every year he becomes smarter, more crafty. He learns the game.
So, he's elevating his FBI and just his skillset.
"The guy works his skillset every day, man. And every year he comes up with a little something new.
He knows how to play the chess game, really in the run game, but the pass game you see it," Campbell continued. "He'll set something up for a while and then he'll counter you at some point.
He's a headsy player, man. He knows what he's doing.
And then he's got a motor. I mean, my gosh, when you have all those and then you got the motor he does, he's a massive problem for an offense.”
Detroit has handled his return carefully. The team has kept some limits on him, but his workload is being pushed up as camp goes on so the Lions can get a clear read on where he stands before his sixth season.
“We have ramped him up. He's been on a ramp up plan and we felt like we started to hit some pretty good numbers.
And then he had a little setback, but I anticipate him being out there today," Campbell explained. "And you start talking about really, I guess two years ago, he's a strong physical man.
I mean, when he does it right and he plays low and he feels good, I mean, he can wreak havoc in there. So, he's doing a good job in there.
He's mixing it up and it's just about trying to keep his body on the up and up right now.”
There is a clear path for him to help, even if he is no longer sitting near the top of the depth chart. The Lions have a strong interior tandem in Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams, with other names in the mix such as Skyler Gill-Howard and Ben Stille. But Onwuzurike’s value may come from something a little different.
Because he can move inside and outside, he could be used as the big end in Detroit’s defense, including snaps opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Tyler Lacy’s strong camp has added another layer of competition, but Onwuzurike remains a real candidate to make an impact in that spot.
Campbell has seen enough flashes in practice to know the disruption is still there.
“Yeah. I mean, sometimes it's - most of them, what I do is if I don't blow them, it's obvious and I'll just tell him, 'Hey, that's a good job or that's a sack.'
But, sometimes I don't just for the sake of the drill," Campbell said. "You kind of have to do that a little bit, otherwise you won't get a lot done.
But yeah, he's a pain, man. He's definitely a pain, but I'm glad he's our pain.”
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