There was some very welcomed injury news for the Detroit Lions to start training camp. Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike passed his team physical and was cleared to be an active participant in practices.
It’s a sign of progress for Onwuzurike, Detroit’s second-round pick out of Washington in the 2021 NFL draft. He played in a reserve role as a rookie, logging 35 tackles and one sack. Head coach Dan Campbell sounded optimistic about Onwuzurike’s progress.
“Levi’s going. He’ll get some reps today, and we’ll just progress Levi in as we go,” Campbell said before the morning practice.
Onwuzurike reaggravated the long-running back injury on the very first snap of full-contact practice in the 2022 Lions training camp. He had surgery on the back and missed the entire season. Onwuzurike had opted out of the 2020 college season, so he’s only played one season of football since 2019.
The 25-year-old moved much better than anticipated during the June minicamp. While not cleared at that time for team drills, Onwuzurike did work with trainers and did individual activities on his own:
Took this video of Levi Onwuzurike at Lions practice yesterday. He's 91, goes through the drill here after Christian Covington.
We get asked about him hourly by fans. This is as good as he's moved since he got hurt on the 1st contact rep of '22 training camp. pic.twitter.com/HVGw6mVAyT— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) June 8, 2023
Here’s hoping Onwuzurike and his troublesome back can hold up through training camp.