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Detroit Lions Training Camp Battles: Tight Ends

Breaking down the ongoing Detroit Lions training camp battle at tight end

While we enter the days of training camp, it’s already been interesting for the Detroit Lions. Wide receiver Jameson Williams suffered a minor injury and should miss a few days. Meanwhile, they suffered an injury scare when defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson went down with a knee injury.

Fortunately, the injury for Gardner-Johnson has been defined as minor and is considered day-to-day.

While both players will be worth monitoring, there’s still plenty to follow when it comes to each position group during training camp. One of the main positions to follow is the tight end position.

Last season, the Lions tight end room changed drastically when they traded away T.J. Hockenson. Fortunately for the Lions, they made it work with players such as Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra.

As we enter the off-season, we knew that their was a need for an upgrade at tight end in Detroit. However, we didn’t know if the Lions were going to sign one or draft one. As it unfolded, we saw the Lions select Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

By selecting LaPorta, the Lions get a clear upgrade at the position. During training camp, we should see LaPorta be a step ahead of every other tight end on the roster. Much of this is due to the route running and athletic ability that he possesses. With that skill-set, it should allow the Lions the ability to consistently run between 12 and 21 personnel and they should find plenty of success.

Players such as Zylstra and Wright are experienced and are familiar with the scheme being ran under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. For Brock Wright, he had 591 snaps on offense last season and recorded 18 receptions for 216 yards and 4 touchdowns.

As for Shane Zylstra, he could be on the outside looking in and his performance during training camp could be crucial on if he makes the roster or not. Last season, he had 227 offensive snaps but he did score 4 touchdowns off just 11 receptions. What we’ve seen from himis very similar to what we saw in 2013 and 2014 from Joseph Fauria. We’ll see if Zylstra only plays two seasons for the Lions like Fauria.

The determining factor for Zylstra could be based off three things:

  • Can LaPorta handle the role of being the top tight end
  • Is James Mitchell ready to take another step?
  • Do the Lions carry three or four tight ends on the roster?

We know the Lions selected James Mitchell in the 7th Round of the 2022 NFL Draft but he was coming off a torn ACL. However, he played well in 14 games last season. He had 11 receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. But it’s unclear on what his progression from year one to his second season looks like.

Ultimately, I’d expect Sam LaPorta to be the top option for the Lions at the tight end position. He should get the majority of the first-team snaps, but it looks like he’s got a good supporting cast behind him and an even better supporting cast around him at the other positions. The Lions could carry four tight ends this year, but I think they’ll go with three of them. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out during training camp, but the projected three tight ends I have for the Lions are Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and James Mitchell.

Lions C Frank Ragnow is healthy and feels good right now

Lions C Frank Ragnow is healthy and feels good right now with his ongoing toe injury

With another day of training camp wrapped up, Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow met with the media. During his media session, there were plenty of questions asked towards Frank about the state of the offensive line to his overall health.

As we know, we’ve seen consecutive seasons where the former first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has battled through a toe injury. In 2021, he was put on injured reserve with a toe injury. Then we saw him battle through another toe injury last season. Here’s what he had to say about his injury status:

“I’m feeling pretty good, man. I know I slipped this off-season and said it’s inoperable. It kinda got blown out of the water. I’m feeling really good. Right now, I’m in a good space. Mentally, especially.”

The two-time Pro Bowler has started 65 games during his Lions career and if healthy, he’ll continue to add to that this season. Keep in mind, Ragnow went from having to a $7.5 million dollar cap hit last season from his rookie deal to now having a $16.45 million dollar cap hit this season. He signed a four-year contract extension worth $54 million in 2021.

From what I’ve heard this off-season, not only is Ragnow healthy, he’s also in tremendous shape. It sounds like he’s had a tremendous off-season and he’ll look to be another key part of the Lions offense and success for the future.

Detroit Lions Training Camp Battles: Cornerbacks

Breaking down the Detroit Lions depth chart at cornerback to start training camp in 2023

One of the most improved units for the Detroit Lions this off-season has been in their secondary. Much of that is for their success in signing three defensive backs in free agency while drafting another in the 2023 NFL Draft.

When you look at their first big signing in free agency for Detroit, it was a three-year contract that landed them cornerback Cameron Sutton. During his first six seasons in the NFL, Sutton played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He found plenty of success and is coming off the best year of his career in 2022 with 43 tackles, 15 pass deflections and three interceptions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up as the team’s top cornerback for the next few seasons.

While looking into upgrading the secondary, the Lions made a surprising move by trading away former first-round pick, Jeff Okudah. While it was somewhat of a head scratching move at the time, it makes sense with Okudah feeling like damaged goods from being picked by a previous regime and injuries.

So the alternative move for the Lions was to get some additional draft capital and look back into free agency after adding Sutton. This additional move was by signing veteran cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. Last season, Moseley played in five games and had five pass breakups and an interception. He had torn his ACL and was expected to have a limited market in free agency.

That could be why Moseley signed a one-year contract with Detroit. He’ll need to prove that he’s healthy and hasn’t lost a step. The hope for the Lions is that Moseley returns to form from a few seasons ago. Prior to last year, he played in 39 games with 28 starts. This led to 3 interceptions and 28 pass deflections.

It would make sense if fans are eager to pencil Moseley into the starting cornerback role opposite of Sutton. He’s the obvious choice but the key will be if he’s healthy or not. If he’s not, the Lions could very well turn to a familiar face in Jerry Jacobs.

For Jacobs, he missed the beginning of last season from a torn ACL in 2021. However, once he got activated, he found success on the field and made some key pass breakups in the second half of the season. Jacobs finished 2022 with an interception and 8 pass deflections while playing in 12 games.

It’s worth noting that Jacobs will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this off-season. Him being on the field often and having success should be a driving force for him to earn an extension in Detroit.

Lastly, the Lions will have plenty of options and versatility at the nickle corner spot of their defense. The surprise move this off-season was by signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year deal. Nobody saw that move coming but it’s a move that could really get the Lions secondary to the next level.

Over his four year career with the Saints and Eagles, Gardner-Johnson has 11 interceptions and 36 pass deflections while tallying 228 total tackles. Last season for the Eagles, he had a career year with 6 interceptions and 8 pass deflections and 67 tackles. With Gardner-Johnson, he’s versatile enough to play down in the box, cover the slot or even be a single high safety if the Lions run a Cover 1 defense.

If Gardner-Johnson isn’t covering the slot, I’d expect the Lions to turn to Brian Branch or Will Harris. As we know, Harris has spent his entire career in Detroit and in fact, played a career-high of 68% of snaps in the slot last season (per PFF). He had 10 starts and recorded his first career interception.

I’d expect Harris to see somewhat of a dip in production and with his snap count this upcoming season. Much of that could be due to the Lions selecting Alabama defensive back Brian Branch in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

With Branch, he’s dynamite in a small package. He won’t drop any jaws with his straight line speed (4.58 time in the 40-yard dash) but he’s physical, versatile and his been praised for his football IQ. I’d expect for Branch to shadow Gardner-Johnson during training camp but most importantly, I’d keep tabs on how many times he’s aligned in the slot and taking snaps as the nickle corner of the Lions defense.

Ultimately, this Lions secondary has gotten tremendously better. It’s probably the group I’m most anxious to see during training camp and the preseason. If all goes right, here’s how I predict the Lions secondary for the 2023 season:

  • CB1: Cameron Sutton
  • CB2: Jerry Jacobs until Emmanuel Moseley is healthy
  • Nickle: Brian Branch with a rotation of C.J. Gardner Johnson and Will Harris
  • FS: Kerby Joseph
  • SS: C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Tracy Walker

I’d expect the Lions to have multiple packages for their secondary with a combination of players at a variety of spots. I’d be somewhat surprised if Kerby Joseph wasn’t the team’s starting free safety with how well he played as a rookie and just due to his ball skills.

As I put in the diagram above, I’d expect times that we see more of a DIME defense from the Lions. It would present the Lions the option to have Joseph, Walker, Gardner-Johnson and Branch on the field at the same time. Much of that will depend on the success that we see from Sutton, Moseley and Jacobs on the perimeter of the defense.

Detroit Lions sign veteran OL Germain Ifedi

The Detroit Lions have signed veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi

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In the evening hours of the first day of voluntary OTA’s for the Detroit Lions, it was announced that they signed veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi. It’s unclear on the structure of his contract but I would assume it’s a veteran minimum deal for one-year.

Oddly enough, this signing comes from the Lions after their first few hours of potentially seeing veteran right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai. I’m unsure if Vaitai participated or showed up for the voluntary OTA’s in Detroit. However, we do know that he’s been dealing with a back injury for most of his tenure with the Lions. The signing of Ifedi could be insurance if Vaitai can’t play.

Throughout much of this off-season, the Lions have made it a point to upgrade their offensive line. This off-season the Lions re-signed Matt Nelson, signed Graham Glasgow and drafted Colby Sorsdal in the 5th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. They now add Ifedi, who could be just a camp body or like I said, he could be insurance to Vaitai and his injury woes.

For Ifedi, this is his 4th team in the NFL and he’ll certainly look to play more than the 8 total snaps he played for Atlanta last season. Prior to playing with the Falcons, Ifedi played over 1400 snaps with the Chicago Bears over his two seasons with the team. His second season with the Bears was partially spent on injured reserve due to a sprained knee.

All of this occurred after he spent four seasons as a starter with the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks selected him with the 31st overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Over the course of his career, Ifedi has played over 3900 snaps (per PFF) at right tackle and over 1500 snaps at right guard. If healthy, he’ll provide Detroit with some guard and tackle flexibility.

Former Chargers EDGE Jessie Lemonier passes away at 25

Former Chargers edge defender Jessie Lemonier has passed away at the age of 25.

Former Chargers edge defender Jessie Lemonier has passed away at the age of 25. The cause of death has not been reported at this time.

Lemonier started his career in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Liberty University, signing with the Chargers.

Lemonier appeared in six games that year. Then, competing for one of the last spots on the roster, he flashed during the preseason of 2021, finishing with five quarterback pressures and two sacks. But he ended up being waived.

Lemonier was quickly picked up by the Lions and appeared on their practice squad. He was called up to the active roster, in which he recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss in seven games.

Detroit re-signed him in April of 2022, but he was waived a month later.

Lemonier went on to play for the Cardinals, the XFL’s Arlington Renegades, and the USFL’s Houston Gamblers and Birmingham Stallions.

Previewing the Vikings’ matchup against the Lions

Here are a few things to watch in the Vikings’ matchup against the Lions:

The Vikings had high expectations heading into 2021. Despite playing every team close this year, Minnesota has not looked like the team fans thought it would be.

It’s much easier to swallow a blowout loss where the team doesn’t have a chance to win. With the Vikings, they were in a great position to win their first two games at the end, but the endgame, as it has hindered them in the past, struck again in a negative way — with Dalvin Cook fumbling and another kicker choking in a big moment.

Mike Zimmer is a paltry 17-41 against teams that finish with a winning record, and he projects to be (at this moment) 17-44 against those teams. His struggles against those teams are worthy of an in-depth piece for another day. Luckily for the Vikings, they won’t be facing a winning team in the Lions.

The Lions are devastated by injuries but have been competitive in all four games thus far. It could be a difficult game. Here are three storylines to monitor:

Lions get a stroke of good injury luck ahead of matchup with Vikings

TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Jamaal Williams, both listed as questionable on the Lions’ injury report, are expected to play vs. the Vikings.

The Vikings are getting the Lions at a pretty good time of year.

Minnesota is 1-3 and desperately needs a win. Detroit, an 0-4 team, has had to deal with poor injury luck lately on both sides of the ball.

But the Lions got some good news before the matchup. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Jamaal Williams, both listed as questionable on the Lions’ injury report, are expected to play Sunday against the Vikings this week.

Detroit still has players like C Frank Ragnow and CB Jeff Okudah out for the Week 5 game. The Lions also have some key players questionable, such as RB D’Andre Swift and OT Penei Sewell.

Overall, the Lions are still depleted across their roster as the team heads into their game with the Vikings. However, having Hockenson and Williams set to play on Sunday is a stroke of good luck for a team that really needed it.

Vikings Week 5 bets: Sunday’s game vs. the Lions

Here are some notable bets for the Vikings’ game against the Lions Sunday:

Please welcome contributor Tyler Forness to Vikings Wire. Forness is a lifelong Vikings fan who has been covering the team on different platforms over the last few years. He has been featured on NBC Sports Edge and SB Nation’s The Daily Norseman. He is also a die-hard professional wrestling and retro video game fan. You can find him on Twitter @TheRealForno.

As we project out towards Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, it’s no secret that the Vikings need to win this weekend.

With a disappointing 1-3 start that could easily be 3-1 or even 4-0, the issues that have plagued this team over the past few years are rearing their ugly heads.

The inability to manage the clock and stick a fork in the competition at the end of the game has been a thorn in Mike Zimmer’s side his entire tenure with the Vikings.

Luckily for them, the lowly Lions stroll into town this week. Just on its offensive line, Detroit is missing both starting tackles and their starting center, all of whom are former first-round picks.

While it feels like an easy victory on paper, this could also be a trap game for the Vikings. Let’s take a look at the the betting odds for the game powered by Tipico Sportsbook.

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Three questions surrounding the Vikings-Lions game

Here are three questions surrounding Lions-Vikings:

The Vikings are 1-3, so it’s no surprise that the team has done some questionable things on the football field lately.

Minnesota has been marred by missed kicks (the usual), defensive failures and offensive inconsistencies. So really, take your pick.

The Vikings have to get back on track against the Lions. Or else, the team could be looking at another disappointing season without a playoff berth.

Here are three questions surrounding the Week 5 game:

Lions probably without a few key linemen for game against Vikings

The Lions are likely going into the matchup against the Vikings with a depleted offensive line.

The Vikings have pressured the Lions with ease to disrupt Detroit’s passing game in the past. Just ask Danielle Hunter.

Now, Minnesota may have an even easier time getting to the quarterback. Lions OC Anthony Lynn said that, as of now, Detroit is planning on not having first-round pick Penei Sewell, but the team is holding out hope he’ll be ready, as reported by the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett,

For the Lions, it gets worse. Detroit placed Minnesota native and center Frank Ragnow on IR. Left tackle Taylor Decker is also not supposed to be back for Detroit.

Injuries are a part of football, and the Vikings can benefit from a depleted Lions offensive line. Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Everson Griffen and others could be in store for big days in the stat sheet.

The Lions are 0-4 this year, while the Vikings are 1-3. Both teams desperately need a victory in hopes of turning the 2021 season into something positive.