The Detroit Lions kept Tuesday’s training camp session short, getting roughly an hour of work in before shutting it down. With the team coming off four straight fully padded practices last week and another on Monday, the lighter day made sense with the preseason opener against the Bengals only a couple of days away. Most of the work was aimed at the starters who won’t play Thursday.
Even in a condensed practice, Sam LaPorta gave the offense something to feel good about.
LaPorta has had a quieter camp than usual, in part because the Lions have been easing him in as he continues to work through the aftermath of back surgery. On Tuesday, though, he looked much more like the tight end who has been such a key piece of this offense over the past three years.
In the first team drill, he stacked back-to-back seam catches. The first covered about 25-30 yards and came on a twisting, acrobatic back-shoulder grab.
The next was a smooth 10-yard touchdown that made the whole thing look effortless. After a few encouraging days in a row, the rust seems to be coming off.
The same can’t quite be said for Ennis Rakestraw, though there were signs of progress.
Rakestraw has been slipping down the depth chart lately, with Nick Whiteside seeing more first-team work while Rakestraw has mostly worked with the second unit. Dan Campbell called his camp “up and down” on Monday, and Tuesday followed that same pattern.
The encouraging part came in his one-on-ones against Jameson Williams. Early in camp, Williams had been winning most of those reps, but Rakestraw took two of three on Tuesday.
One came when Williams tried to dance at the line and Rakestraw stayed glued to him. Another came in the red zone, where Rakestraw blanketed him completely.
Williams did get free on an in-breaker in between, and Rakestraw had to grab the jersey and take a flag.
That momentum didn’t carry into team work. Malik Cunningham beat him on a double move for a 30-yard touchdown, with Rakestraw biting hard enough to lose the play.
He wasn’t far out of position, but the damage was done. Later in the final drill, Rakestraw got some snaps with the ones, lined up opposite Rock Ya-Sin with rookie Keith Abney in the nickel, though he also looked to be working with the third-team defense at times.
There’s still plenty to sort out there.
Josh Dobbs also made his presence felt, even if his night ended before he could finish the job.
In his second practice with the team, Dobbs only had a brief run in team drills, but he wasted no time showing what he can do. He hit Cedrick Wilson on a 23-yard shot play up the seam, a throw that needed to be placed perfectly between Joe Bachie and Loren Strickland. Wilson helped with a strong high-point catch, but Dobbs put it where only his receiver could get it.
He moved the offense all the way down to the goal line, but the Lions pulled him on a third down inside the 10-yard line and went to Luke Altmyer instead. Dobbs explained why afterward: “I wanted (in), but (offensive coordinator) Drew (Petzing) said we haven’t even installed red zone, so he didn’t have anything to call,” Dobbs said.
“So it’s a little tough once you get to the 6-yard line and you don’t know the red zone plays yet, but I was just like, ‘Just call a fade, and they’ll figure it out.’” Altmyer then checked down to Greg Dortch, and the drive ended with a short field goal.
The defense, meanwhile, owned the situational work.
The offense had several chances to do something with its final sequence, but the defense kept finding answers. An apparent Alim McNeill sack on Seth McLaughlin was overlooked, but Aidan Hutchinson got the next one and made it count.
Jared Goff then missed Sam LaPorta deep, and the defense was flagged on an unclear penalty that gave the offense a fresh set of downs. Isaac TeSlaa added a medium gain, LaPorta caught another curl, and Jake Bates finished that series with a 47-yard field goal after Goff missed Brock Wright on third down and Wright couldn’t secure the bobble.
The second-team defense then stopped the second-team offense on a run-heavy three-and-out, setting up another chance for the starters. Goff’s first snap was a low one from McLaughlin that he bobbled before Avonte Maddox came free on a blitz for the sack.
After two more inefficient plays, the Lions faced fourth-and-long. Goff delivered a strong back-shoulder throw to Jameson Williams down the left sideline, but Williams landed out of bounds after the catch.
The staff counted it anyway, though the refs had ruled him out. It didn’t matter much.
After another Hutchinson sack - his third of the day - Goff tried to force a desperation throw to LaPorta and Thomas Harper stepped in front of it for the practice-ending interception.
A few other notes stood out as well.
Nick Whiteside continued to have a strong day. In one-on-ones, he shut down Isaac TeSlaa in the red zone and nearly came away with a one-handed interception against Lucky Jackson.
Amon-Ra St. Brown had a one-handed catch of his own in one-on-ones against Rock Ya-Sin, though he just missed getting both feet down in bounds.
Ya-Sin, with D.J. Reed out, looks like the top Lions corner right now. Every rep against him turns into a real battle.
Lucky Jackson also drew praise during full-team red zone work. On one snap, he came in motion and handled his blocking assignment in the run game. On the very next play, he sold the same look, slipped out into the flats and found himself wide open for a 2-yard touchdown.
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