Monday morning marked the third padded practice of Detroit Lions training camp. After a light day on Sunday, everything amped up for the Monday session.
Spirits were high and tempers short on a sun-soaked morning with the bleachers packed full of fans. Those in attendance got to see some impressive defensive performances, a handful of scuffles and even a bad-looking injury.
Here’s the notebook from the Lions practice on the final day of July.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson shows out
Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson returned to practice over the weekend but didn’t really get a chance to show much in limited reps and Sunday’s walkthrough. On Monday, Gardner-Johnson reminded everyone why the Lions coveted signing him as a free agent.
It started early for No. 2. In an early drill, Gardner-Johnson physically separated the ball on a reception attempt by rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs. The thunderous hit sent the ball flying out and brought out a huge response from the capacity crowd.
Gardner-Johnson was just getting started. Other than one red zone rep where he got crossed up in tracking WR Jameson Williams across the back of the end zone (a really nice route by Jamo too), Gardner-Johnson was outstanding. He broke up one pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, getting his hand in between the wideout’s hands and jostling the ball free. No. 2 also closed quickly on another pass to St. Brown that forced a rare concentration drop by No. 14.
From the coverage to the open-field tackling and also the intense vocal presence, Gardner-Johnson elevated the defensive performance. He made sure everyone knew he was the best player on the field.
Tempers flare
There were several incidents of tempers flaring throughout practice. More than once, punches were thrown.
The biggest brouhaha came when WR Jameson Williams got into it with undrafted rookie CB Starling Thomas. An incomplete pass to Williams with Thomas in coverage instigated it all when Thomas, who was not responsible for the pass not being caught, celebrated a little too much for Williams. After the two jawed a bit, Williams punched Thomas’ helmet just as No. 49 started to walk away.
Earlier in the practice, Gardner-Johnson agitated wideout Kalif Raymond enough to draw a retaliatory shove from No. 11. Raymond is a cool cat, so getting such a rise out of him demonstrates how skilled of an agitator Gardner-Johnson can be.
Thomas also got involved with wideout Denzel Mims, who took exception to Thomas holding him on a seam route for a good 20 yards. I can’t print what Mims said to him, but his point of “stop holding me” was not out of place and was appreciated by both Josh Reynolds and Williams, who have dealt with Thomas’ excessive grabbiness in coverage during camp.
Injury scare
Unfortunately, there was a long, quiet pause toward the end of team drills. Reserve TE Shane Zylstra caught a swing pass in the red zone and was promptly submarined by reserve CB Khalil Dorsey.
It was not pretty to see. Zylstra screamed immediately and trainers rushed onto the field. Dorsey’s helmet or shoulder appeared to drive right into Zylstra’s knee, or perhaps just below it.
Zylstra was helped off after a few minutes when the rest of the team solemnly stood around hoping for the best. The unfortunate incident took a lot of the venom out of the practice drills, neutering the hostility that had been festering throughout the day.
Quick hits
–A good example of veteran leadership from right after practice. Isaiah Buggs was working with third-round rookie Brodric Martin on technique for keeping his center of gravity lower at nose tackle:
Post practice work. Isaiah Buggs helping teach Brodric Martin some technical refinement. pic.twitter.com/Eqgn5tVYjM
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) July 31, 2023
–I spent the bulk of the day watching the LBs, RBs, TEs, WRs and DBs, but I did pay attention to the line play in team drills. I wanted to get some idea of where Levi Onwuzurike is in his attempt to return from back surgery. In three reps with the third-team defense, Onwuzurike lost two reps to undrafted rookie OL Ryan Swoboda (one run play, one pass rush) and earned a draw with the 6-9 Swoboda on the third (pass rush). Pad level is an issue for No. 91.
–I’ll write more about it separately, but Monday was not a good day for the Starling Thomas fans. Aside from the aforementioned holding, he really struggled throughout practice in both drills and the team portion.
–With Penei Sewell sidelined, Matt Nelson got the first-team reps at right tackle. He had one clear loss to Aidan Hutchinson, but otherwise it looked like he held up well in team drills. It was the best day of practice I’ve personally seen from Nelson in some time, though again I didn’t focus intently on the line play today.
–Each kicker missed one FG attempt. John Parker Romo was wide right from 51 yards, while Riley Patterson also missed wide right from 45. The Lions did let them kickoff, and Romo’s superior leg strength was plainly obvious; Patterson struggled to get the ball into the end zone, though he did execute designed shorter kicks (to the 10-15) better.
–The Saginaw Valley State football staff was on the sidelines, showing support for UDFA LB Trevor Nowaske. The athletic rookie has looked like he belongs. Nowaske had a couple of nice special teams reps, besting vet Anthony Pittman on one.
–Aside from the rare drops (he had two clear ones) from Amon-Ra St. Brown, other receivers also had some drop issues. TE Brock Wright bumbled one away with EDGE Charles Harris closing quickly in coverage. Rookie WR Antoine Green had two balls fall to the turf where he got at least one hand on each. Jahmyr Gibbs also let one get through his hands and off his pads. Jameson Williams had a debatable drop, though from my vantage point behind the defense it looked like the blame was on QB Jared Goff for leaving the ball too far out in front.
–Williams did have the best block of the day, a slobberknocker of a downfield block to help spring a long run.
–Over the weekend, head coach Dan Campbell indicated that free agent signee, CB Emmanuel Moseley, would be in practice on Monday. Moseley had not yet been to the facility by the time practice ended. A team source indicated Moseley was still expected to arrive on Monday. The veteran is dealing with a recent setback to his recovery from ACL surgery and remains on the NFI list.
–Tuesday is an off day for the players. They’ll be back at it Wednesday morning.
