Detroit Lions training camp observations Day 4: Offense shifts interior OL

After a day off following three straight practices, the Detroit Lions returned to the practice field on Thursday for Day 4 of their 2025 training camp. Despite having an intense practice before the break, the Lions returned with the same level of intensity to begin the next set of three practices. Thankfully, the Lions will don pads on Friday, then welcome select season ticket holders on Saturday—so don’t expect the intensity to settle down much over the next few days.

Participation Report

The Lions were able to remove cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver from the NFI list on Thursday, as well as return defensive tackle Brodric Martin from injury. Unfortunately, starting corner Terrion Arnold (calf strain) and starting linebacker Derrick Barnes (hand) left practice early. The Lions are expected to take it slow with Arnold, but Barnes is reportedly expected to “be fine.”

Intensity returns

On Tuesday, coach Dan Campbell stopped practice and cautioned his players to dial back their aggressiveness, but eventually needed to shut down a drill early and remove Morice Norris from practice. Norris returned to the practice field on Thursday and went right back to his safety role without incident.

However, there was some chippiness amongst the rest of the team on Thursday, as several scuffles broke out during the first 11-on-11 drill. The players mainly policed themselves and quickly squashed the scuffles, but after the fourth incident in roughly 10 minutes of play, Campbell once again stopped practice to refocus the players. For the most part, this marked the end of pushing the envelope for the players, although it's clear they’re eager for the pads to come on.

Center swapping

After three days of starting rookie Tate Ratledge at center, the Lions decided to change things up on Thursday by shifting him to right guard and sliding Graham Glasgow to center. Here’s a look at the starting offensive line on Day 4:

LT Dan Skipper

LG Christian Mahogany

C Graham Glasgow

RG Tate Ratledge

RT Penei Sewell

After practice, Tate spoke with the media about the differences between playing center and guard and the adjustments he’s needed to make.

“Definitely mental,” Tate explained. “To me, offensive line play is offensive line play. I mean, it’s, of course, like I said, it’s quicker. Everything happens quicker. But yeah, the mental side of it’s definitely the hardest part. Getting everybody on the same page.”

“At guard, you got a little bit of a delay being off the ball,” Tate continued. “And then of course you get up here and you’re going against quicker guys than I’ve seen before. So, I think that was the biggest adjustment (to playing center), just how fast everything happens.”

For the most part, it’s difficult to properly evaluate an offensive lineman without pads on, but it’s worth pointing out that, amongst the starters, Sewell has looked very sharp in his movement, while Mahogany looks like a freight train when he pulls.

The Lions also continued their rotation at center for their second and third teams, rotating their reserve centers, as Kingsley Eguakun went back to second-team center, Michael Niese to third-team center, and Trystan Colon to third-team guard. Here’s how the reserves looked:

LT Giovanni Manu

LG Netane Muti/Trystan Colon

C Kingsley Eguakun/Michael Niese

RG Kayode Awosika/Colby Sorsdal

RT Jamarco Jones/Mason Miller

Manu continues to take second and third-team reps at left tackle, but with temperatures pushing over 90 degrees on Thursday, he did get some reps off and was temporarily replaced by Skipper.

We finally have our first turnovers

“(After) the first three days of practice, (Chris) Spielman came up to me and said, ‘I haven’t seen that violent intent on the football around here in four years,’” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard told the media Thursday morning. “And you know what, that doesn’t mean that we get to take three days off here. That needs to uptick now. We need to turn into a pack of wild dogs. When people turn on our tape, they know, you better tuck the ball, and you better get down if the defense is around you.”

While the Lions hadn’t forced a turnover during the first three practices, the defense managed to force three on Thursday.

The first turnover of team drills during camp occurred during the first 11-on-11 period of the day. The offense executed a quick out to rookie wide receiver Jacobie Keeney-James, but when he turned upfield, corner Dicaprio Bootle heeded Shepard’s words and punched at the ball, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Ezekiel Turner.

When the team shifted to 7-on-7s a bit later, the secondary was forcing tight windows, and when Jared Goff tried to sneak a pass into Jameson Williams up the sidelines, Erick Hallett (who started camp as a safety but has been playing corner) timed the play perfectly and intercepted the pass. In fact, it was so well done that he was running near max speed when he made the pick and probably would have turned it into a pick-6.

Finally, in the last period of 11-on-11s, Kyle Allen threw a check-down to rookie running back Kye Robichaux, and while Anthony Pittman probably would have stopped the play dead in its tracks, with no tackling, the play continued, and defensive lineman Raekwon Williams tracked down the running back, stripping the ball from behind.

Rookie WRs continue to make plays

While Keeney-James was the culprit of one of the turnovers on Thursday, he’s had a nice camp overall, though. His speed is noticeable and he should bounce back tomorrow.

Fellow UDFA Jackson Meeks has shown well in camp so far, often repping with the second team and showing out on special teams. But, as one of the best contested catchers in college football last year, he is hoping he’s able to showcase his physicality in pads on Friday.

“I’m so excited for pads,” Meeks told Pride of Detroit after practice. “So excited. I’m ready to bring my physicalness. Just being myself and competing every play. Just put that ball in the air.”

Isaac TeSlaa also showed off his physicality on Thursday, most notably as a blocker. On a late-practice screen play to Craig Reynolds, TeSlaa got out in front of the play and cleared a path for the back, who went virtually untouched on a 50+ yard would-be touchdown.

However, the offensive play of the day arguably belonged to Dominic Lovett. During 7-on-7s, Lovett ran a route that led him to the sidelines, and while Allen’s pass was a bit high and outside, the rookie receiver contorted his body and made a leaping one-handed catch. Now, the players on the sideline (all defenders) indicated that Lovett landed out of bounds, but it was too difficult to determine from our angle whether they were correct. Regardless, Lovett showed tremendous body control and the ability to bring in a ball that he probably shouldn’t have been able to grab.

More UDFA rookies to pay closer attention to

While the rookie offensive players tend to show up more in observations during the unpadded practices, it’s worth noting that UDFA rookies, defensive lineman Keith Cooper and safety Ian Kennelly, saw second-team reps early on Day 4.

Cooper is showing off the range to play at the 3T, 4i, and at defensive end, mirroring the positional flexibility of Levi Onwuzurike and Pat O’Connor.

“They want a pass rusher, especially on the interior,” Cooper told the media on Tuesday. “And that’s what I gave (at tryouts) and that’s what I am hoping to build on in camp.”

Continuing to perform in pads and preseason games will certainly be something Cooper needs to do in order to be considered for the 53-man roster, but he’s taking advantage of his opportunity with players like Onwuzurike and Mekhi Wingo sidelined with injuries.

Safety Ian Kennelly made a standout play on Day 1 of camp with a whalloping pass break-up, and on Thursday, he found himself on the field with the second team, alongside Norris, when Avonte Maddox was working out of the slot. The safety group is very deep, and it’s likely cycling players, but this early usage indicates he’s firmly in the mix with Norris, Dan Jackson, and Loren Strickland for an S4 (or S5) role.

Shane Zylstra is separating himself as TE3

Another competition that we were expecting to be close was the battle for TE3, but so far, it’s been the Shane Zylstra show.

Zylstra has only been working with the first and second teams, and he has proven to be a nice safety net for his quarterbacks. He’s also cleanly winning special teams reps—including against tough opponents like Derrick Barnes—which is surely only furthering his stock. Things could change with pads on, but Zylstra has been running away with this battle through four practices.

Pat O’Connor is playing everywhere

If he wasn’t already, Pat O’Connor looks like he could be closing in as a lock for the roster. When Onwuzurike was lost for the season, O’Connor was taking first-team reps at the 4i. And while he’ll face competition for that role from Wingo and Josh Paschal when they return from injury, it’s worth noting that on Thursday, O’Connor was taking second-team reps at nose tackle with Roy Lopez out.

But that’s not all. We also saw O’Connor line up as the second-team 3T before giving way to Cooper, and the versatile veteran also took some snaps at defensive end. That kind of positional versatility is very comforting for a coaching staff.

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