Pads on Deck, Practice Persists: Camp Notes From This Weekend
Training Camp Continues!
Information sourced from: Pride of Detroit, Jimmy Liao MD, Jordan Schultz, Pro Football Reference, Detroit Lions Podcast, Spotrac
The Lions resumed practice on Sunday, and even before then a lot of news dropped. Let’s dig right in with the latest from training camp.
Alim McNeil is OK!
I’m not going to lie, sometimes I act optimistic when I am worried, and McNeil going down was one of those times. Without McNeil it would have been much harder to generate any sort of interior pressure and defend the run. But after a very short amount of time he is back at camp and seems to be no worse for the wear. Bullet dodged.
Jimmy Rolder Update, Enter Devin White
Per Jordan Schultz, and now being more widely reported, Jimmy Rolder’s injury is not season ending. In fact he is likely to be able to contribute yet this year. What that exactly means is unknown at this point, but good for the young linebacker who was looking quite promising. Here’s hoping we can get him back sooner as opposed to later!
Brad Holmes wasted no time, and is emitting the no nonsense approach the rest of the staff is, by signing arguably the best linebacker available on the market. He logged a whopping 174 tackles in 2025, good enough for 3rd in the NFL. Furthermore he has a stellar athletic profile and flies around the field (4.42 40 yard dash). Jeff Risdon (linked above in his recent podcast on the subject) described him as someone who makes up for lack of technical execution with his athleticism. I love this move, especially with the fact that he is LB3 or LB4 at this point. Adding that caliber of talent that deep is something we haven’t seen this team do a ton of.
At the time of this publishing, and per Spotrac, the only details available about White’s contract are that it is a one year deal.
Derrick Moore Goes Down with a Groin, Kitselman with a Leg
Derrick Moore was taken out of practice today to assess a groin injury. The bright side here is it happened early in camp, but if it’s any sort of significant injury he may miss critical snaps in training camp and preseason. Here’s hoping he can make it back to the field quickly.
Rookie UDFA TE Miles Kitselman went down with a leg injury, and not much else is known at this point. This is unfortunate given there were murmurings he was starting to catch on with the offense and may have been able to fight for the bottom end of the TE depth chart.
Nonetheless, best of luck to Moore and Kitselman. Here’s hoping they make it back to the field soon.
Mile Frazier, Lineman Extraordinaire
Miles Frazier took a ton of snaps with all three teams today, as some of the starters appear to have been pulled to simply one on ones today. He took snaps at both guard and tackle spots, and by most accounts he did well everywhere he was placed. Having such a versatile lineman that can play is a boon, and we may have just found him.
Further Positive Looks from the Offensive Line
Overall it sounds like the offensive line both starting and reserve seem to be starting to find their footing. I have said many times both in writing and to friends, I believe our number one issue last year was our offensive line: Thus, this is great news to hear. Side note: It sounds as though Juice Scruggs filled in for Mahogany whilst he was out, and did a solid job.
DJ Reed is Starting to Look the Part
Multiple people commented on X that DJ Reed is starting to look the part. I heard conflicting reports, but it sounds like he came down with two picks today. The Lions need him to step up and be that cornerback number one with a bullet, let’s hope he continues to perform this way and stays healthy.
Training camp is always up and down, with injuries, and the up and down of day to day performances against the same players. The one observation I would make is that it certainly seems like the Lions are taking their no nonsense approach everywhere, and that includes practice. They are taking reps again when they aren’t perfect. This is a team training to compete in the offseason. Only time will tell if it will work out.