Tag: Will Harris

Lions training camp notebook: Day 13 wraps the pre-preseason slate

Here’s what I saw, heard and observed during the final Lions training camp session before the preseason opener

Wednesday marked the final day of Detroit Lions training camp practice open to the public. The fans in attendance on the beautiful morning after the rousing Hard Knocks debut did not get to see a great deal of heavy contact.

The 13th day of training camp was a lighter one for Dan Campbell’s Lions, who had one of the most physical and intense practices in years on Tuesday. Some fans grumbled about the lack of hitting, but Campbell stuck to his guns about keeping his players fresh and ready for actual games that matter.

Here’s what I saw, heard and observed during the final Lions training camp session before the preseason opener on Friday against the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Aaron Glenn declares open competition for starting CB job between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn declares open competition for starting outside CB job between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris

During the first few days of Detroit Lions training camp, we’ve seen a pretty steady rotation between Jeff Okudah and Will Harris as one of the Lions’ first-team outside cornerback spots. On Monday, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn officially stated it’s a battle between the two for the gig.

It’s an interesting battle. Okudah is trying to assert himself after two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons since being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Harris is moving from safety, where he’s been one of the league’s worst regular starters over the last couple of seasons.

So far, it’s been a great summer for both. Okudah looks faster than ever now that he’s fully recovered from an Achilles injury suffered in Week 1 last year. Harris has nicely built off a late-season emergency move to cornerback, looking far more natural than he ever did at safety.

Glenn let them know they’re working for the same goal: the starting outside spot across from Amani Oruwariye.

“I called both of those guys at the same time and just told them, ‘Here’s the deal. Are you guys going to compete?’ They look forward to it and they were open to seeing what the competition is going to be about,” Glenn said before Monday’s practice session.

Okudah battling for the job might seem like a disappointment for such a lofty recent draft pick, but it’s important that he must earn the role. Harris’ play has been a pleasant surprise thus far, ensuring that it’s a legitimate battle.

Head coach Dan Campbell agreed. Here’s what Campbell said Monday when asked if it’s a competition between Okudah and Harris,

“Yes, we do. Yes, we do. We think Will Harris is very much in play out there, and he’s getting a chance. He’s going to get a chance to compete for that, he and Okudah both. And so, it’s – may the best man win and let them go after it, and then see what we’ve got. I mean we – we’ll figure that out once we get to the season. You’d rather not be in a timeshare-type thing, but yet man, if they’re both guys we need to have out there, we’ll find a way to get them out there and use them.”

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Will Harris and Ifeatu Melifonwu have officially switched positions

Detroit Lions DBs Will Harris and Ifeatu Melifonwu have officially switched positions

There has been a shakeup of the depth chart in the Detroit Lions secondary, one that reflects the expected reality of who is playing where. The Lions have officially changed the positional designations of Will Harris and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

Harris has started at safety for most of the last three seasons, but he is now officially listed as a cornerback on the Lions’ own depth chart. Meanwhile, Melifonwu is now on the safety section of the roster instead of the cornerback role he played as a rookie.

Neither change is a surprise. Harris took first-team reps at outside CB in minicamp this summer and has not aligned at safety once this offseason in practices open to the media. No. 25 finished the 2021 season playing primarily at cornerback due to injury issues at the position and played better at CB than he had at safety. He was backing up Jeff Okudah at outside CB to kick off training camp.

Melifonwu took some first-team reps at safety in Wednesday’s training camp, though much of his morning was spent with the second-team defense.

Predicting the Detroit Lions 53-man roster prior to training camp

Detroit Lions who will be free agents after the 2022 NFL season

All the Detroit Lions players who will be free agents after the 2022 NFL season

One of the few constants in the NFL is change. Injuries, retirements and free agency for players equals considerable roster turnover every offseason. For the Detroit Lions, the last factor there could be a major factor following the 2022 season.

The Lions currently have 41 players whose contracts expire after next season. That’s nearly half the roster potentially heading for free agency.

Not all free agency is equal. Five of the players here will be restricted free agents (RFA), meaning the Lions have the ability to keep them in the den with a qualifying tender offer. Other teams can pay the tender price and acquire the player, though that is not a common occurrence in today’s NFL.

Several will be exclusive rights free agents, or ERFA. Those 13 players simply need to be given the NFL minimum salary by the Lions and they are locked in.

Detroit can also extend players before their contracts expire. With over $10 million in remaining salary cap room, a couple of the more prominent names here are definitely candidates to be taken off the list with new deals before the end of the year.

Status is as of June 20th and players are listed in order of snaps played in 2021

Lions minicamp notebook: First impressions from opening day

Here’s what I saw and learned on Tuesday at Lions minicamp

The Detroit Lions were one of 12 NFL teams to kick off mandatory minicamp this week. Coach Dan Campbell led the Lions onto the practice fields in Allen Park on a cloudy, breezy afternoon.

This was my first visit to the team facility since November, which means it was my first chance to take in the 2022 Lions roster in person. With the action limited by the CBA, today was as much about first impressions on players and trying to keep all the personnel and jersey number changes straight.

Here’s what I saw and learned on Tuesday at Lions minicamp.

Potential position changes abound in the Lions secondary

The Detroit Lions have a few young players in the secondary who are experimenting at multiple positions in OTAs

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The word “multiple” unfortunately sends shivers down the spine of Lions fans. Former head coach Matt Patricia often used the term to describe his defense, which progressively declined to the worst in the league.

But the basic concept of having versatile players who can perform in multiple different roles isn’t inherently bad. Detroit’s defense in 2022 has a lot of those guys, notably in the defensive backfield.

The Lions are testing the multiple positionalities of players in this week’s OTAs. One of them is Ifeatu Melifonwu. The second-year DB has been a cornerback for a long time, but in Thursday’s OTA session he took a bunch of reps at safety.

It’s a wrinkle that Melifonwu, who is safety-sized at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, is welcoming with open arms. He spoke after practice about the possible move to safety via Ben Raven of Mlive,

“The plan, AG (Glenn) and the coaches just asked me to try it. I’m a football player, so they kinda want to put me in different spots (and) see what works,” Melifonwu said. “If you got versatility and know the other position just in case anything happens.

“I like it. It’s a different perspective. Definitely a different perspective. You see the whole field instead of just one side of the formation. I’m still getting used to it. I like corner as well. It’s honestly two different things. I’m getting used to it.”

The Lions are thinner at safety than cornerback, so it makes sense to cross-train a young player with physical traits that translate to each spot. One of the reasons for the odd depth issue is because veteran Will Harris continues to get a lot of looks at cornerback.

Harris moved from safety to corner late in the 2021 campaign after a rash of injuries ravaged the CB room. He performed better at CB than he had at safety, where he’s just not worked out as hoped. Harris is in the mix at both outside and slot CB, as well as his old box safety role in coordinator Aaron Glenn’s split-safety base package.

When injured cornerback Jeff Okudah returns, he might also switch around multiple positions. With the depth strongest at outside CB, a move inside to the slot or even some dabbling as a coverage safety could be in the works for Okudah in his third season in Detroit, too.

Dan Campbell hints Will Harris might be moving to CB full-time

Harris played better at CB in a late-season trial than he had at safety, and Campbell said there might be a permanent move in the works

Will Harris will be back for another season in the Detroit Lions secondary. But the fourth-year vet might not be playing where he has for most of his first three seasons in Detroit anymore.

Harris has been a safety for the bulk of his NFL career, for better and for worse. He’s graded out at Pro Football Focus as one of the worst regular safeties in the league each year and Harris is coming off his worst grades in 2021, his first season as a full-time starter.

The 26-year-old did show some spark when pressed into emergency duty at cornerback late in the year. His length, speed and explosiveness worked better in the more defined play role at corner. In fact, it might be Harris’ new home, according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

The second-year head coach offered up the potential position change for Harris in his meeting with the press on Thursday.

“We’re still talking right now, you just go out Day 1, do you put him at corner?”,  Campbell said of Harris this week. “Do you put him at safety? And I’ll be honest with you, we haven’t just locked that down right now. We’re still kind of talking about it. And that’s not a bad thing. That’s not a bad thing.”

Campbell even made a joking new position reference for Harris,

“He’s a ‘cafety’. Yeah, he’s a hybrid. He really is. He’s a jack of all trades.”

Moving Harris to CB would make the biggest hole on the defense–safety–an even bigger one. Tracy Walker is back as one starter, but Harris currently projects as another one. Last year’s running mate, Dean Marlowe, is no longer on the team. The Lions do have late-season acquisition Brady Breeze and special teams specialist C.J. Moore back, but that’s the extent of the depth.

Yet the move just might salvage Harris’ underwhelming career. In evaluating him as a prospect coming out of Boston College back in the 2018 NFL draft cycle, I was among those who suggested Harris might be better-suited to play cornerback than safety at the next level. It’s worth a try for Harris and for the Lions, even if it creates an even bigger hole at safety.

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4 players the Lions could cut to free up cap room in 2022

4 veteran players the Lions could cut to free up cap room for 2022

This offseason figures to be an important one for the Detroit Lions and GM Brad Holmes. Between the 2022 NFL draft and the upcoming free agency period, the Lions are positioned to add several impact talents across the roster. They certainly need them if they hope to finish better than 3-13-1 in the second year of the Holmes/Dan Campbell regime.

One of the ways they can attempt to improve is addition-by-subtraction. Jettisoning overpaid veterans whose salaries might be better spent on different players who fit the current Lions better than the “Patriot Way” era and using those funds to boost free agency spending makes a lot of sense.

The Lions don’t have a lot of options on that front. Cutting Taylor Decker or Jeff Okudah, as examples, would technically cost the Lions more cap room than they’re paying for those players in 2022. Here are four that do fit the bill of potential cap casualties in the name of progress.

All the cap figures here are based on roster moves that would be designated post-June 1st, per Over The Cap.

Lions vs. Seahawks: Everything we know from Week 17

Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks: Score, stats, keys to the game, top Lions players and more

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It was not a successful final road trip for the 2021 season for the Detroit Lions. The Week 17 visit to Seattle produced one of the most lopsided losses of a season where Detroit has now fallen to a 2-13-1 record with one game left to play.

For the most succinct recap of the Seahawks’ 51-29 win, in the above sentence, I typed the 2-13-1 as 2-31-1 — twice — and it felt appropriate. That’s how this game felt.

With Dan Campbell’s Lions starting deep reserves, practice squad call-ups and players who will likely never cash another NFL paycheck after this season in far too many key roles all over the lineup, it wasn’t really much of a contest. Seattle surged out to an early double-digit lead and the Lions never threatened to win thereafter.

Listen: Detroit Lions Podcast celebrating the Lions escape from the NFL’s worst record

Breaking down the win over the Cardinals, why winning is better than losing, coaching vision and more

The latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast featuring Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon celebrates the team’s impressive win over the Arizona Cardinals and the escape from having the worst record in the league.

It’s a joyous recap of the Lions glorious win, celebrating the unexpectedly good performances from QB Jared Goff, DB Will Harris and others. What does the win mean for the Lions coming offseason? What does it mean to not have the No. 1 pick in the draft anymore (hint: it’s a very good thing) and how can we interpret Dan Campbell’s performance as the head coach after a win like this?

The show also streams live on YouTube. Subscribe to the channel and you’ll know when a show is coming.