Training camp is where the Detroit Lions will find out plenty about their rookies, but the pressure isn’t limited to the first-year guys. A handful of veterans are walking into camp with real questions hanging over them, and how they look over the next stretch could say a lot about the shape of this roster.
Teddy Bridgewater is one of the clearest examples. Detroit signed him in free agency after Kyle Allen left for the Buffalo Bills, a move that mattered more than it might have looked at first glance.
The Lions had already moved on from Hendon Hooker last year, which left Allen as the top backup option before he was gone. Bridgewater is the replacement, but there are obvious concerns.
His age and lack of recent NFL experience make him a shaky bet as Jared Goff’s QB2, and reports from OTAs and minicamp suggested he was inaccurate. On top of that, UDFA Luke Altmyer is pushing for the job, so Bridgewater enters camp with real heat on him.
If he locks down the backup role, that’s a win. If not, Detroit still has a veteran presence in the room.
Alim McNeill is in a different spot, but the stakes are just as real. His 2025 return didn’t go swimmingly, though he was still working his way back and the Lions’ defense was in rough shape for most of the year with or without him.
Now 2026 offers him a chance to do more than simply rebound from the 2024 injury. It’s a chance to look like one of the league’s best defensive tackles.
McNeill told reporters during OTAs, "I felt like (I was) me personally, mentally and everything. It's just, you know how the body works.
It takes time for stuff to come back a little bit and some stuff was not there. No matter how hard I tried to do certain stuff, it just wasn't there yet.
It's here now. So I'm not really thinking about last year at all honestly."
Detroit needs that version of him, especially with the defense expected to support the offense in a way it hasn’t since likely 2023.
Penei Sewell is the odd name out at first glance, because it’s hard to say a player of his caliber has something to prove. He does not need to prove he’s one of the best in the game.
He’s going to keep getting mentioned in Protector of the Year conversations and remains a pillar of the offense. But camp matters for him because his role is changing.
Sewell is sliding from right tackle to left tackle, a shift that asks him to do things differently than he has since 2021. He played left tackle in college and even filled in there for the Lions when Taylor Decker was injured years ago, but this is still a major adjustment for a player who has built his reputation on the right side.
The big question is whether he shows rust in camp or looks just as dominant on the other edge.
DJ Reed rounds out the group, and his first year in Detroit didn’t go the way anyone expected. He arrived in free agency with plenty of buzz, and there was real excitement around what he could bring to the secondary.
Instead, injury cut into his debut season, and when he returned, he looked a step slow. Reed said this offseason that he got stem cell treatment for a hamstring injury that was more serious than originally believed, and he says he feels much better heading into camp.
Detroit will be hoping that means a return to his 2024 form: a corner who can be a problem in man coverage and one of the best tacklers on the field.
In Other News...
A Familiar Fix For Detroit's Pass Rush Might Not Be Gone Yet
ZaDarius Smiths name is back in the conversation for the Lions, even if only indirectly for now. After his brief stint with Philadelphia in 2023 ended with a retirement, the Eagles released him from the reserve/retired list in June 2024, which naturally reopened the door to speculation about what comes next for a veteran pass rusher who already spent time in Detroit.
Smith was a familiar midseason addition for the Lions in 2024 after arriving from Cleveland, and he gave them useful pressure off the edge before the offseason moved on without him. Detroit has spent plenty of time sorting through ways to keep its pass rush steady, so any hint that a proven option might not be done yet is the kind of development worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Penei Sewells Standing Just Made One Lions Change Feel Massive
Penei Sewells place among the NFLs elite has long been settled in Detroit, where the Lions have leaned on him as one of the most dependable players on the roster. Even after a 2025 season interrupted by injuries, the left tackles standing remains as strong as ever, with three straight First Team All-Pro selections underscoring just how high the bar has been for him.
Dan Campbells latest comments only added to the sense that the Lions are making a major line adjustment with real confidence behind it. Sewell has prior experience on the left side, and Campbell made clear he expects the transition to go smoothly, a notable vote of trust for a player whose rsum already puts him in rare company. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Still Have One Obvious Pass Rush Move Before Camp
The Lions head into camp with much of their defensive core back in place, but the edge group still looks like a spot where one more proven piece could help. Detroit already moved on from Al-Quadin Muhammad and used a high draft pick on Derrick Moore, signaling that it wants more juice and depth around Aidan Hutchinson as it builds out the front seven for 2026.
A veteran like Jadeveon Clowney would fit that conversation neatly because he has spent 12 years finding ways to stay useful for different teams, and he just turned in a productive season in Dallas. For a defense trying to keep its pass rush steady over a long year, the question is less about whether there is room for another edge and more about whether the Lions want to turn that obvious opportunity into a move before camp opens. [Read more 🡒]