Quinton Dunbar missed his second straight practice Monday for undisclosed reasons, and I’m starting to wonder where he fits into the Detroit Lions‘ young secondary.
Dunbar seemed ticketed for backup duties at outside cornerback behind Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye when he signed a one-year minimum-salary benefit deal this offseason.
He played well in Washington in 2018-19, when he had six interceptions in 18 games, but has long injury history and perhaps more competition than most realize for a roster spot in Detroit.
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To be clear, I do not know why Dunbar was absent Monday, but he was limited in the Lions’ first practice of training camp, when he wore a compression sleeve on one of his legs, and he sat out drills Saturday, too.
Dunbar played just six games before undergoing season-ending knee surgery last year. He missed time with a hamstring injury in 2019, and in 2018 had a nerve problem that cost him playing time.
Just 29 years old, he is an impressive-looking cornerback with great size (even in the big Lions secondary) and the proven playmaking ability that some of his teammates lack. But in Detroit, Okudah and Oruwariye are locked into starting jobs (and looking good this summer), Mike Ford has taken most of the first-team reps at slot cornerback going back to spring, and rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu is a lock for a roster spot as a third-round pick.
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The Lions have used Melifonwu as their second-team nickel cornerback at times this summer, and seem deeper at that position -—veteran Corn Elder also can play slot corner — than on the outside. Two undrafted rookies, Jerry Jacobs and A.J. Parker, also are vying for jobs at cornerback, and Jacobs, in particular, has turned heads in training camp. If he shows anything of substance in preseason games, he’s the type of young prospect who could force his way onto the roster.
That could leave Dunbar as the odd man out, or at least in a position where he needs to play and prove he can stay healthy to have a role on a young, rebuilding team.
We’re six-plus weeks away from the start of the regular season and the Lions have yet to have their first padded practice. I’ve covered the NFL long enough to know better than to make any declarative statements about players at this point in training camp.
But Dunbar’s limited workload the past six days is a red flag, and the strong play of some of his cohorts is helping the Lions’ secondary come into focus.
More observations from Monday‘s practice:
• Linebacker Anthony Pittman has gotten some run with the second-team defense at middle linebacker recently with Jahlani Tavai (on Saturday) and Derrick Barnes (on Monday) missing practice time.
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Pittman made the play of the day Monday when he picked off a David Blough pass to Tom Kennedy in team drills that he likely would have returned for a touchdown. He said he was in “sink-back” coverage on the play, when he read Blough’s eyes and undercut the pass.
“I think he saw me, he tried to squeeze it past me,” Pittman said. “I feel like he felt I didn’t have enough depth, but I kind of sunk back and just grabbed it.”
• Lions coach Dan Campbell mentioned inside linebacker as one of the positions he was most curious to watch roster battles play out last week. Pittman, the former Wayne State star, nearly had a second interception Monday and has played well so far this summer.
He moved from outside to inside linebacker with the coaching change this offseason and dropped 10 pounds in the process. He said he’s moving better and feels more at home in his natural position.
It’s worth noting, too, that Pittman turned down an offer from the Las Vegas Raiders (with a small amount of guaranteed money) to sign a future’s deal and stay in Detroit this offseason.
I asked him about that decision Monday, and his answer will be music to Lions’ fans ears.
“It would have been a fresh start there, but it was a fresh start here,” Pittman said. “I love the city, I love playing for my hometown team, I love being in this building and I feel like I want to be a part of the resurgence of the Detroit Lions. It’s my hometown team, so it’s like, all right, let’s do it.”
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• Running back D’Andre Swift had a very light workload in practice Monday, but assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley said that was a pre-planned workload decision and that Swift is not dealing with any injuries. Given the amount of check-downs the Lions have thrown through five practices, I think Swift catches 80-plus passes this season if he stays healthy.
• I wrote about how Lions players and coaches use their on-field video boards in my observations Saturday, and here’s another example from Monday’s practice.
Safety Tracy Walker raced over to the board in the south end zone after the first team period of the day and re-watched a pair of Jared Goff passes, one that went the defense’s way and one that didn’t. Walker made a great read on a Goff incompletion to T.J. Hockenson on the third play of the period. Goff appeared to throw behind Hockenson on a pass over the middle, but on replay it seemed apparent that he was throwing away from Walker and that Hockenson did not make enough of an adjustment.
One play later Breshad Perriman beat Amani Oruwariye down the left sideline to haul in a pass on a perfectly-placed throw. Walker’s cohort in the secondary, Will Harris, couldn’t get Oruwariye over-the-top help in time.
• Harris has pretty consistently taken first-team reps alongside Walker this summer, but Dean Marlowe had a really nice pass breakup worth mentioning Monday. Marlowe punched a pass away from Darren Fells on a short curl route, coming from behind to make a perfectly-timed play on the ball.
• I haven’t mentioned Victor Bolden or Tom Kennedy much this summer, but both found themselves open for multiple catches in team and seven-on-seven work Monday. I don’t know if either has enough special-teams ability to win a roster spot, but thought they deserved a nod anyway. In punt drills Monday, the Lions used Ford and Bobby Price as first-team gunners, with Quintez Cephus and Melifonwu on the second-team. Ford is excellent at the position.
• Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver spent several minutes talking with Lions GM Brad Holmes after practice Monday. Both men are overseeing major rebuilds, and both seem to have their organizations pointed in the right direction. Pistons coach Dwane Casey also took in Monday’s practice.
• The Lions will hold their first padded practice of camp Tuesday. Originally, that was supposed to happen Monday, but teams must wait until their second day after their first day off (Sunday).
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.