The Detroit Lions will be hosting two sets of joint practices this summer.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson told Florida reporters over the weekend that his team will practice against the Lions ahead of the teams’ Week 2 preseason game in August.
Lions coach Dan Campbell had previously said the Lions would host the New York Giants for joint practices in Week 1 of the preseason.
Dates for both games have yet to be finalized, but teams taking part in joint workouts typically practice against each other two or three times in the days leading up to the game.
A LOVING FAMILY: On Mother’s Day, Lions CB Jerry Jacobs grateful for women who raised him
The Lions did not participate in joint practices in Campbell’s first season as Lions coach in 2021. Last year, the Lions held two practices with the Indianapolis Colts in the second week of the preseason, then had a day off before their exhibition game in Indianapolis.
Joint practices have become a popular way for teams to get meaningful work for their starters in competitive yet controlled settings during training camp. Starters then typically sit out those preseason games.
By hosting the Giants and Jaguars, the Lions will get an extended look at two of last season’s playoff teams — and two teams they beat in the regular season.
The Jaguars went 9-8 last season and won their final five games after a Dec. 4 loss to the Lions to win the AFC South for the first time since 2017. They beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the playoffs, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The Lions open the regular season against the Chiefs on the NFL’s Thursday night kickoff game.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Lions rookie Hendon Hooker has charisma, swag and talent. But no QB controversy.
Jacksonville, led by second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence, finished top 10 in total and passing offense last season, and 12th in scoring defense.
The Giants went 9-7-1 in the regular season last year and won a road playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings before falling to the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions beat the Giants in the regular season, 31-18.
The NFL suggested teams wait until Week 2 or 3 of the preseason to hold joint practices for health and safety reasons. Campbell said in March the Lions and Giants had been planning joint practices before the league made its recommendation, and that both teams are doing what they feel is in the best interests of their players.
LIONS ROOKIE MINICAMP OBSERVATIONS: Hendon Hooker has ‘it’; Sam LaPorta shines
“I think you just go about it like any other practice, man,” Campbell said. “You be smart with what you’re doing and they’re going to suggest what they’re going to suggest, and we listen to it. But it’s not like we don’t have our players’ best interests at heart and we’re reading our own data and we’re trying to figure out the best way to help our guys in recovery and all that. But at the same time, there’s a balance. You want to get really good work and maybe not have to play some of the starters.”
The Lions close the preseason Friday, Aug. 25, against the Carolina Panthers in an 8 p.m. game that will be televised by CBS.
Briefly
A former Arizona Cardinals official who has accused team owner Michael Bidwell of cheating and discrimination said in a court filing that now-Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner provided burner phones for executives to use to communicate with then-Cardinals general manager Steve Keim during Keim’s suspension.
According to Compare.bet, ex-Cardinals vice president Terry McDonough wrote in an arbitration filing that Disner, then the Cardinals vice president of football administration, “distributed burner phones at the direction of Bidwill and Steve Keim to Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks, McDonough, Keim, and Cardinals Vice President of Football Operations and Facilities Matt Caracciolo” in July of 2018.
Keim was suspended five weeks in 2018 after he was arrested for driving under the influence and not allowed to have contact with others in the organization during the suspension.
Disner declined comment on the report through the Lions, to Compare.bet.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.