Defensive line
Trey Flowers has now missed consecutive days of practice but it’s still too early to jump to conclusions on if he is injured or just resting. Desmond Trufant, for example, rested three consecutive days last week and has been back in full this week.
With no Flowers, Romeo Okwara continues to rep with the ones and as I have mentioned previously, is putting together a very nice camp. Okwara moving up with the ones has given newcomer Will Clarke and opportunity to get reps with the twos, but he looks like he is still a ways away from being ready to contribute.
Coach Patricia stated in his morning press conference that Da’Shawn Hand wouldn’t play today, but at this time it’s unclear if it’s a rest day — like many have gotten — or an injury. Tomorrow should provide more answers.
No Hand, meant there was an opportunity for Kevin Strong — he is starting to come on after a slow start to camp — and Frank Herron.
Favorite play of the day: Danny Shelton wrecked Bezschawel in one-on-one pass-rushing drills. Quick off the snap, Shelton got the early angle, stuck one hand into Benzschawel’s chest, and pushed him back five-yards within a second and a half. Each practice Shelton has flashed this level of insane power at least once.
One last thought: If you were worried about John Penisini making the roster, today’s roster move of releasing Olive Sagapolu in favor of Kevin Wilkins should help you feel more comfortable — as Penisini and Shelton are the only nose tackles remaining on the roster.
Linebackers
Not a ton of changes from what has been reported all week. Jarrad Davis and Jahlani Tavai continue to cycle through the MIKE and WILL, Jamie Collins is all over the field, Christian Jones and Reggie Ragland are multi-faceted chess pieces, and Julian Okwara is slowly getting exposed to more playing time.
We did see some more of Elijah Lee and Anthony Pittman today, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see if one of them ends up on the practice squad.
Corner
Another day, and another pass breakup for Tony McRae. He’s been taking starting gunner reps on special teams, as well as reserve slot corner reps, and he is starting to make some noise at both spots.
“Very savvy player,” Patricia said of McRae, “smart, and he’s got great quickness, great short-space quickness, and really does a good job at top-of-the-route stuff right now. He’s done a really good job of playing up and through the pocket and playing the hands in some of the passing situations. He just plays hard, plays hard, plays aggressive.”
Leading up to today, I was souring on Mike Ford’s ability to make the roster as it appeared there were six players ahead of him on the depth chart. While that still may be the case, he got more work with the twos today, suggesting it’s still too early to rule him out.
Safety
The Lions have been getting Will Harris work with the ones in an effort to get him needed experience. While there are still some glaring issues, he has started to have flashes of improvement. For example, in team drills, Matthew Stafford had Hockenson wide open for a touchdown and Harris impressively came flying out of nowhere for the pass break up. He still has a long way to go, but those flashes are progress.
Yesterday, Jalen Elliott was running with the twos at single-high, today it was C.J. Moore. If the Lions can squeeze out an extra spot on the roster, this could be the battle to watch.
Miles Killebrew has seen more reps with the safeties group this camp, mostly running with the third team. His path to the roster is still likely based on what he does on special teams — where he is capable of contributing on several key roles — but his ability to be an emergency safety could help soften the blow during Kearses’ three-game suspension.