Dan Campbell Detroit Lions 2026 Camp Opening Press Event
- The Grey Manes Staff
- 6 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Dan Campbell just wrapped his 2026 training camp opening press event and provided a bunch of updates on injuries, player positions. some off season happenings and a bit about today's practice.
Injury Summary
Branch - Potentially Early September
Kerby - No Change, Update form Spring still applies. Likely will linger into the season on same timeline as Branch
Conklin - Calf in Spring, Two Weeks
Izien - Flu bug likely back Friday
Mahogany - Couple of Days
Quick Hitters
Paula Pasche was going to get 1st question but wasn't in Allen Park yet
One player didn't pass conditioning test. Unconfirmed, but likely Jay Tufele who was cut yesterday
Expecting Kerby to be on the Branch plan (would be a bonus getting back for 1st game)
Arnold cut was addressed with team last night, not ideal, but decision was made
Extension will take care of themselves, not worried about it, think highly of Gibbs and LaPorta
Will know in three to four days if the revamped Line is an improvement, but believes that the five that come out of OL room will be an upgrade
Abney and McCreary will take some outside CB reps. Rakestraw will take Nickle Reps. Reed and Ya-Sin will stay outside exclusively.
Campbell praised Rakestraw's hips, change of direction, ball skills and ability to track the ball and is likely an outside CB, but want to take a look inside
Excited about the core players, but having a newness and a bit of a youth movement and getting back to 2022
Jackson Meeks will be gi8ven extensive look at hybrid role to see if he can evolve into that H-Back type weapon and get dirty in the trenches
Would like to play starters in pre-season, but still undecided
Dan Campbell Press Event Transcript
Opening Statement: You know, we uh guys really did a hell of a job, man. Uh we everybody made their weights um and passed the conditioning test. We looked good. All but one guy. Um so ready to go. Obviously not pads today. We'll work them up. We're in acclamation. This is uh hour and a half practice.
Um but but we're really ready to go. So, you know, it's hard to believe we're in year six. um for us. Guys are excited. Coaches are excited. Um and so so it begins. So I'm going to open this up. Is Paula in here? >> The one day, dude. Unbelievable. I was going to give her the first question. Okay. All good. All good.
This is like the one day she's never made it. Okay. No worries. Um okay, questions.
We start with the five injury guys. I think we probably expect a branch of all of them, but the other four, where's Kerby at for you in terms of being ready at some point this camp? And then the other three, um Ian, Mahogany, and Conlin, uh any long-term concerns with any of those guys? Okay, Kerby, it it'll everything that I told you in the spring is still applies to that. You know, we're still we've been working to this, but we're still in this. Okay, he's starting to he's running on ground, man. We're starting to do change of direction some of this, but we're really we're not gonna grind this for another two or three weeks, man. So, I cannot give you a true answer. He's working his tail off. He's not really had a vacation. He's been here with our guys busting his tail. Uh so, he's putting in the work. He feels pretty good right now. We're But there we got a long way to go and we there is still an unknown, but but I like where he's at. We like where he's at. branch is is doing well. Um, you know, he his will be we obviously PUP there's no setbacks. Um, take it as it comes and and we'll see. I'm I'm sure late training camp maybe maybe early September he can start practicing. We'll see. But he's doing well. Um, who else? Izzy just had a little flu bug. We're going to make sure he's good to go. Hopefully by Friday we get him in practice here. Um, Mahogany. uh needs a couple of days and then he'll be ready. Um who else? Oh, Conklin. Conklin's going to probably be about two weeks here somewhere in there. He's running, you know, he got a little calf back in the spring. We're hopeful. No setbacks. Um we're trying to be smart with him, you know, but hopefully get him back as soon as possible so we can we can get some reps on him. Am I missing anybody? I think that's it, right,
Kerby? Is it um how much what is sort of the plan of when you want to get him out or when you think you need to get him out before camp to give him that balance of getting ready but seeing if you know seeing how much he can do? Well, I' I've already to me if we got him back for the first game that that would be a bonus.
I mean that would be a like whoa. Okay. I don't expect that. I'm not looking for that. I I feel like he's more on the branch plan a little bit and that is if everything goes well and everything goes according to plan with him and we got everything on our side. Um but he's doing well.
The other, you know, issue of the offseason, obviously you guys made the decision to part ways with him.
Can you just address that and why you decided to go that route and what changed from, you know, the last time we actually wrote in? Yeah. So, I addressed the team last night over that. You know, it it's it stinks. You never want to let go of a player. Uh especially somebody that you've been around for a while here and you drafted and all that. And uh it's unfortunate, but we made the move we felt was best for us.
There any concern with, you know, filling that spot and some of the guys you got as far as filling that second? No, I you know, we're fired up. Look, it's why we got Rock back. Uh we went and got McCra. We knew we'd get Rake back off injury. Um, you know, we drafted Abney. Um, you know, certainly Dorse is back. So, you know, uh, Iron Sides is back. We feel pretty good in that room of the competition and those guys between veterans, young guys, and, uh, and, uh, ability
Good about rewarding your top guys, you know, rewarding all the top. Obviously, you got some extensions coming up. Jir Gibbs kind of the talk of the offseason a little bit. Is it any concern that that uh, might bleed over into anything at all? Oh, is that something you guys want to do sooner than later or just what's kind of the update on his situation? No, I I would say um of course we you know, you guys know how we feel about Gibbs. Um and all of our guys, LaPorta, Brandt, all you know, um and so we'll take this as it comes. This is uh you know, this will this will kind of continue. It'll come as it comes. I think that's the best way to say it. And so, you know, this is uh this is both sides working through something and uh and we'll take it as it comes, but um that's where it is.
And obviously, you guys did a lot of revamping on your offensive line. Um how soon do you think you'll know what you have there, how it lines up, and are you confident it will be significantly better than last year's? It's uh Yeah. Well, Joe, it's a good question. Um, I wish I could tell you we're going to know within three or four days, you know. I know this. We got four days before we even get to pads, you know. So, there's a week that you're not going to truly know. Um, you know, so you don't know. I know this as fast as we can get them in the secondary to work together, you know. Okay, these are the guys now. We need them to work together and get as many reps as we can. So, look, we're trying to we're trying to figure this out as fast as we can. It's pretty exciting, really. It it really is, you know, cuz there is there's a lot of unknown and but we really like the guys in the room and uh and we feel like it's uh it's kind of like we just talked about with the DBs. It it's a good veteran group in some areas, but yet young guys that are unknown, unproven, they got an opportunity. Um, so yeah, I feel like what comes out of that room, those five is going to be uh is going to be better than what we had last year is going to be an upgrade and not just a little. I believe that
You talked about them as kind of nickel first guys when they first got in the building. Does that Abney and McCreary does the plan change at all with them? I know you've talked about the ability to flex outside. Is there an early camp plan to maybe see what you got there just in light of, you know, shifting personnel at the cornerback? Well, they will take some outside reps. You know, Mccur's played out. Look, so has AB in college. Now, I know he just stepped into our building, but they'll take some of those outside, but we still want to, you know, let them sink their teeth into some of this nickel. And look, we're going to let Rakestraw take a little nickel, too, on some of this stuff and see where it is. But all those guys got to be prepared to go outside.
Um, you know, the guys we know who will stay outside right now are Reed and Rock, you know, and then those other guys need to be able to let's see if they can do some stuff inside. Um
It seems like the staff has been pretty steadfast that he's (Rakestraw) an outside corner. Just what have you seen from him in your first two years that makes you think that that's where he will stick eventually? Well, I there again the injury uh just kind of the injury history with him has not allowed us to really see everything that he can do, but we know that's where he banked a lot of reps in college was outside. Um you know, he look he's got excellent feet, his hips, um just man, his change of direction, he's got ball skills, he can track the ball um down the field. So there there's just things that that you know he's got about him and there's a natural ability to him um that that you feel like is conducive to playing outside and that's probably that's probably where he'll have most of his time but yet let's see what he can do inside too. You know look he's going into year three. Um although he hasn't banked a ton of reps. It's just man there there's you begin to mature and you grow. And we feel like just from what he is internally, I'm not talking about the football player, but just you do you know, you mature, you grow, you learn, you and so we're pretty excited for him this camp to see what he's got.
Drives that you have into all the drives that you have into this facility, all your first days. I think you said excited, you know, 10 15 times already, which we expect, and you should be. But what makes the excitement for this year, this first day, unique? Man, I don't It's just I don't know. This feels like there's a little bit of a transition.
Like this is a it's uh there's a newness to it, you know. Um and there's a reset on, you know, it's a little bit like, okay, we still have our core crew, you know, the guys that that you guys know that have been here since 21. Um and then we've stacked on top of that. Um but then we made some moves here, you know, particularly this year, this off season. And so, it it's there's a newness to it. There's uh there's a little bit of a youth movement. Um that's up to us to get these guys developed. Uh and that's pretty exciting. but also knowing, man, I want to get back to what we did in 22 a little bit, you know, and some of 21, probably more 22, but just get back to the basics of what we are. And so, that's exciting. That's exciting. And to know you're cutting these guys loose, these guys that were puppies at one time, it's all theirs now. It's all Saints and Souls and Hutch and Jack, you know, that's exciting.
Uh, so the other day Kerby Joseph uh tweeted about Jackson Meeks and said that was somebody that you need to watch out for. And it seems like there's a transition for him from wide receiver to tight end. Do you see this as like a hybrid situation where you could maybe turn a 12 13 personnel play into an 11 just by going into motion, that sort of thing, or is it, you know, where do you see him and his growth? Yeah, I think that's what we want to find out. We want to find out if um if there's something in there that that he could be kind of this hybrid, you know, H-back tight end, big slot, you know, big skill. Um felt like his skill set is um can be showcased better at this role, at this position. You know, ask him things that he does well. Now, look, he's going to have to do some dirty work. There's no there's no way around it uh in training camp for the reps preseason games, but there's things that that we'll ask him to do to see if he can do it. You know, we just felt like this was this gives him the best opportunity to be the type of player that he can be, but also maybe help us see if there is something there. So, yes, absolutely.
Uh Dan, obviously today's a beautiful day, but when it is really like hot, humid like it was a week or two ago, how do you balance getting the work in with player safety? And since you started playing and through coaching, like what's the biggest thing you've learned about, you know, training in the heat? Yeah. Well, we haven't had to do it. I mean, look, we I came from New Orleans, uh, as a coach at last, and I mean, we did everything outside and, uh, and we practice early in the morning. Look, we practice early here. So, even if it is a hot day, most of the time you're you kind of avoid it here. Um, but I think the thing to keep in mind is, man, I am so conscientious of that and being smart uh with our guys, understanding what we have to do, but then remembering back to two a days and three-hour practices at 3:00 in the afternoon, you know, and it was like, dude, you're you're getting 50 reps in the morning and you're getting 40 in the afternoon, and by the way, you're not warming up or stretching. You better be ready to go. We're not going to waste 10 minutes on stretch for a three-hour practice. We got too much to do. So, I'm not saying we're doing that. You can't do that anymore. But don't forget, man, the body can go. The mind controls the body. You can do more than you think you can do. These guys are in damn good shape, and now we got to get them in football shape. And uh and we'll work them to that.
Hey, Dan, have you made the decision yet about playing the starters in preseason? I know during the last camp you said you was thinking about it more. Have you decided yet that you're going to No, not I. I mean, look, I would like to, you know, but there again, this thing moves as we get through um get through these practices, you know, what do we look like? Who needs work? Then do they need to play together? Um, you know, is there players that aren't getting enough intensity in practice, you know, and the only way to get them there is they have to play preseason games or we got to go live or, you know, so we'll work around that stuff. Um, right now I would like to, but we'll see how it goes. Thanks, guys.