Detroit Free Press

Affirmation, not revelation. That’s what Dan Campbell was looking for from his rookie class this week against the New York Giants — affirmation they belonged, not some big revelation in play. And in two joint practices, that’s exactly what he got. “You want to see growth,” the Detroit Lions head coach said before Wednesday’s practice.

The question was simple. The answer was not. Does Jared Goff get enough respect from people outside the Detroit Lions’ facility? “I mean, I don’t know,” Dan Campbell said in response to my question Tuesday. “I don’t even know how to answer that, honestly.  I don’t know.” The Lions coach was at a loss for

Jahmyr Gibbs scored his first semi-real touchdown Tuesday afternoon. Real in the sense that he was lined up against another team. Finally. It’s still practice, technically, but you can bet the New York Giants tasked with tracking him out of the backfield and stopping him were keen on doing it. They couldn’t. Partly because a

When Barry Sanders came to Detroit as the second pick in the 1989 NFL draft, he joined a 4-12 team that hadn’t made the playoffs in six years, with a likable new head coach. “I think the slogan was ‘Restore the Roar,'” Sanders said Tuesday. One of the best running backs in NFL history, Sanders

Practice? We talking about practice? Indeed we are, and with all due respect to Detroit casino legend Allen Iverson, Tuesday’s Detroit Lions-New York Giants joint practice felt like something a little more to some of the parties involved. Lions coach Dan Campbell came to the podium for his morning news conference sounding like he had

Teddy Bridgewater spent two seasons with the New Orleans Saints and made quite the impression on Dan Campbell during that time. On the field, Bridgewater went 5-0 as a fill-in starter for Drew Bress in 2019 after Brees broke his thumb early in the season. Off it, he helped nurture the Saints’ skill position talent,

Jonah Jackson didn’t have joint practices as a rookie when the NFL put a temporary stop to them due to COVID, and in his second season, the Detroit Lions didn’t schedule any training camp workouts with other teams because Dan Campbell was still settling into life as an NFL coach. The Lions visited the Indianapolis

Dan Campbell never hid the Detroit Lions’ interest in signing Teddy Bridgewater, and it’s clear now that interest was mutual. The Lions signed Bridgewater to be their new backup quarterback Monday, on the eve of their joint practices with the New York Giants. Bridgewater, 31, was considered on the top backup quarterbacks on the market

The Detroit Lions have picked a long snapper, and it’s the same one they employed the past two years. The Lions released veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide on Monday, giving the job to incumbent Scott Daly for 2023. Daly handled long-snapping duties for the Lions the past two seasons, but the team signed McQuaide, a

The Detroit Lions host the New York Giants for joint practices Tuesday and Wednesday and their preseason opener Friday, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said facing a new opponent two weeks into training camp will be good for his squad. “It’s a fresh look at somebody else and I love that cause camp, you got

When organized team activities ended in mid-June, Emmanuel Moseley looked like a sure bet to be ready for the start of training camp. Now two weeks into camp, there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. Moseley made his first public appearance of the summer at Detroit Lions practice Saturday,

Before the Detroit Lions signed veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide this offseason, they told the two-time Pro Bowler he would have to beat out incumbent Scott Daly to win a spot on the 53-man roster. Any ties would go to Daly, who was younger and cheaper entering his third NFL season. “They said you got

Dan Campbell took a swig of water, put his bottle down, adjusted his hat and spread his arms like an eagle. A little more than an hour before his team was set to practice in front of anotherpacked training camp crowd, Campbell was asked about the Detroit Lions achieving a season-ticket sellout for the first

Dan Campbell worries the “hype train” is outta control. That makes sense if you suit up for the Detroit Lions’ head coach. Not that he’s trying to manage your expectations, or even his players; he wants them to have big goals, and to believe. He’s just trying to keep his guys focused. Coaches do that,

Today marks Day 14 of Detroit Lions training camp, and while two weeks is hardly enough time to say anything declarative on the Lions’ biggest roster battles, it’s plenty enough time to check in and see how things have changed. The Lions have had 10 practices so far, including a jog-through after their first two

The Detroit Lions signed cornerback Tae Hayes on Friday, one day after Jarren Williams suffered a potentially serious leg injury. Hayes has appeared in 19 games over his four-year career, including two with the New England Patriots last season. He also has played for the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville

Dylan Drummond thought his NFL dream was over, the first leg of it at least. Drummond took part in Detroit Lions rookie minicamp in May on a tryout basis, one of the unsigned, undrafted players who needed an impressive weekend to stick around for organized team activities the rest of the spring. Camp ended, the

Colby Sorsdal got his first live first-team reps with the Detroit Lions‘ offensive line Thursday, and for the rookie fifth-round pick, it was an eye-opening experience. “It was great,” Sorsdal said. “It’s like a different attitude kind of coming in there with the ones and seeing those guys, with J.G. (Jared Goff) running the huddle

For as long as I can remember, the Detroit Lions have held one of their training camp practices at Ford Field. The idea has always been to bring practices to more fans — Ford Field’s capacity of about 65,000 dwarfs the Allen Park experience, where 2,500 people can comfortably squeeze in — and give new

The Detroit Lions have an opportunity to bring a playoff game to Ford Field this season and fans have taken notice. Lions president Rod Wood announced on WXYT-FM (97.1) Thursday morning that all season tickets are sold out for the first time in their history at Ford Field, which began in 2002. In fact, Wood