logo
Biggest takeaways from Lions' first training camp practice: Who played guard, center?

Biggest takeaways from Lions' first training camp practice: Who played guard, center?

Yahoo3 days ago
Detroit Lions training camp is officially underway, as the team took to the practice field for the first session on Sunday.
Before hitting the field, head coach Dan Campbell gave some injury updates, with the most notable being that Levi Onwuzurike has been ruled out for the 2025 season because of an ACL injury, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
"Levi's surgery was significant, and it needed to be done," Campbell said. "Out of his control and needed to be done. So he will miss the season."
Also of note, Campbell revealed that left tackle Taylor Decker had a clean-up procedure on his shoulder but could be back after the Hall of Fame Game.
Those weren't the only injury notes from Sunday. Here's a look at another and some other takeaways from Detroit's first practice of training camp.
Who didn't practice?
Aside from the guys on injury lists, edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, linebacker Alex Anzalone and linebacker Anthony Pittman didn't practice, per Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman.
More on Anzalone shortly.
Ennis Rakestraw injured
According to Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News, cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. left the session early and is being evaluated for a chest injury.
"Rakestraw collided with a receiver during a pass play in 11-on-11 and was escorted to the locker room after being checked on the sideline," he revealed.
There is no further update on the severity as of this writing.
Lions show their "Plan A" on offensive line?
Also per Bianchi, the Lions had rookie Tate Ratledge take all of the first-team reps at center on Sunday, with Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany playing at right and left guard, respectively.
"A lot can change between now and Week 1, but Ratledge's placement on the first day of camp suggests that putting him at center is their Plan A," Bianchi wrote.
That trio was expected to take the guard and center spots in some combination. Now we have an early idea about where they're going to end up.
Alex Anzalone arrives but doesn't practice
Campbell told reporters that Anzalone has arrived at training camp and passed his conditioning test with flying colors.
The fact that Anzalone has shown up indicates he isn't going to hold out amid his perceived dissatisfaction with his contract as he enters the final year of his deal.
However, a hold-in remains possible after Anzalone did not practice for the Lions' first day of camp, although Campbell doesn't see that happening.
'No way, right?' Campbell said of a possible hold-in, per Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman. 'I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe that.'
When asked if there was anything in the works involving a new contract for the Lions linebacker, Campbell said "no, not that I can really talk about."
Who took the reps at left tackle?
According to Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire, Dan Skipper was the fill-in for Decker. Taking the second- and third-team reps at left tackle were Jamarco Jones and Giovanni Manu, respectively.
Risdon added that Manu appears to have more muscle than he did during his rookie year while also noting that "Manu's calves and thighs were definitely more toned and sculpted than a year ago."
The backup quarterbacks
Risdon didn't see much of a change with Hendon Hooker.
"Just as was the case last season, he mixes in some outstanding throws with some ponderous misses," Risdon said of Hooker before noting that he "didn't see or hear any of last year's issues with Hooker being too hesitant to throw the ball."
Risdon also noted that Hooker's competition for the backup spot behind Jared Goff, Kyle Allen, was solid but "showed the weakest arm" of the quarterbacks.
"Kyle Allen is the new No. 3 and from one practice, it's easy to see why the Lions had interest," Risdon said.
Lions rotate in the slot
The Lions saw all of their projected starters at cornerback, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson and D.J. Reed, get reps in the slot, Risdon said.
Robertson is expected to return to his role as the team's primary slot corner in 2025 after excelling in the role in his first season in Detroit.
Who filled in for Levi?
With Levi Onwuzurike out and Alim McNeill uncertain for Week 1, there's a spot open on the starting defensive line next to DJ Reader.
For now, per Reisman, rookie Tyleik Williams "was starting in Levi's place today."
Risdon says Pat O'Connor got extra looks, and Chris Smith and Myles Adams also got involved.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Lions' David Montgomery admits to having reason to run even angrier
Dan Campbell admits his biggest concern for Lions going into camp
Lions DT Levi Onwuzurike out for 2025 season
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Super Bowl 60 betting: Super Bowl odds for every NFL team entering the 2025-26 season
Super Bowl 60 betting: Super Bowl odds for every NFL team entering the 2025-26 season

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Super Bowl 60 betting: Super Bowl odds for every NFL team entering the 2025-26 season

The Philadelphia Eagles (+700 at BetMGM) are looking to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but they have plenty of company atop the odds board. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are tied with the Eagles at +700 odds to win Super Bowl LX, followed closely by Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs (+800) and the Detroit Lions (10-1). The Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints have the worst odds in the league at 300-1. No team with preseason odds worse than 40-1 has won the Super Bowl since the 2001 New England Patriots (60-1), according to Sports Odds History's database. If you're looking for the over/unders for all 32 NFL teams, click here. Here are the Super Bowl odds for every NFL team at BetMGM: Super Bowl LX odds Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles: +700 Kansas City Chiefs: +800 Detroit Lions: 10-1 Washington Commanders: 18-1 Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers: 20-1 Green Bay Packers: 22-1 Minnesota Vikings: 25-1 Los Angeles Chargers: 28-1 Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30-1 Houston Texans: 35-1 Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers: 40-1 Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys: 50-1 Seattle Seahawks: 60-1 Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots: 80-1 Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders: 100-1 Carolina Panthers: 150-1 New York Giants, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans: 200-1 Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints: 300-1

2025 Fantasy Football Rankings Tiers: Running Backs
2025 Fantasy Football Rankings Tiers: Running Backs

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

2025 Fantasy Football Rankings Tiers: Running Backs

With the teeth of draft season just around the corner, it's a good time to get the Shuffle Up series going. This week, I'll offer my player tiers for the four major positions in fantasy football. Consider them as you get ready for your own drafts, or self-scout the teams you've already assembled. We handled the quarterbacks on Monday, and today we take on the running backs. The wideouts and tight ends will follow later this week. What matters is how the players relate to one another, where the talent clusters and where it drops off. Players at the same salary are considered even. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Running back remains the most important of the four major positions in fantasy, the area we desperately want to get correct. Last year saw a shockingly low injury rate at this position, something that's unlikely to repeat. No matter how you address this spot at the front of your draft — Zero RB, Hero RB, Robust RB — you'll probably be sure to proactively draft a bunch of high-upside runners for your bench, hoping to get lucky here and there. Just one good break at running back can make a fantasy season. Tier 1: The Big Tickets $44 Bijan Robinson $43 Jahmyr Gibbs $42 Saquon Barkley $41 Derrick Henry $40 Ashton Jeanty $37 Christian McCaffrey $37 Jonathan Taylor $34 Josh Jacobs $33 Bucky Irving $33 Chase Brown $32 Kyren Williams $32 James Cook It took new Atlanta OC Zac Robinson some time to find his way last year, and Bijan Robinson was affected — he was merely the RB21 after four weeks. After that, Robinson averaged 20.1 points per week and was the overall RB2. Robinson offers everything we want in an early fantasy draft pick — upside, floor, low mileage (it's his third season, his age-23 season) and an offense that's presumably on the improvement path, with Michael Penix Jr. likely an upgrade over the late-career version of Kirk Cousins. Bijan to the moon. Barkley's season had "outlier" stamped all over it, with 15 touchdowns coming from an astounding average of 29.4 yards. The Eagles didn't give Barkley a single touchdown from the 1-yard line — that's Jalen Hurts territory — and Barkley remarkably kept hitting those glorious home runs. But 5.8 YPCs are always poor bets to repeat (De'Von Achane waves hello) and Barkley might have trouble staying healthy after handling a ridiculous 482 touches last year. Pricing in some regression is the prudent play, and let's not forget that Barkley missed multiple games in each of the five seasons preceding his move to Philadelphia. McCaffrey is the most ticklish boom-bust pick on the board, capable of elevating a fantasy roster to glory (think 2019 and 2023) and capable of ruining a season before September is over (think last year). McCaffrey has just two full seasons out of his last five, and he's moving into his ninth professional year — there's some mileage here. Of course, McCaffrey's value has always been significantly tied to his pass-catching chops, which enables him to be tackled by lighter defenders and avoid some of the attrition you face running inside. The 49ers' offensive line is probably average at best, but the Kyle Shanahan schemes are always a plus. Do you feel lucky? Taylor's value probably gets a boost with Daniel Jones the presumed Week 1 QB starter — whatever you think of Jones, he's more of a professional quarterback than Anthony Richardson Sr. right now, and Jones is also less likely to take rushing yardage off the table. Taylor was humming after his return from ankle problems last year, settling in as the RB7 from Week 8 to the finish of the year. The Colts have moved away from him as a receiver in recent years, which is why Taylor now commonly lands in the second round. But this looks like a safe area to park your investment. Tier 2: Legitimate Building Blocks $31 De'Von Achane $26 Kenneth Walker III $25 Breece Hall $25 Chuba Hubbard $24 James Conner $23 Omarion Hampton $23 Joe Mixon $21 Alvin Kamara $20 David Montgomery Walker is in a prove-it year, but he's proving it for a new coaching staff that inherited him. Zach Charbonnet performed better than Walker in several key metrics last year, and it's also possible the Seahawks might have a goal-line package for mobile rookie QB Jalen Milroe. Walker has also been a high-attrition back for most of his career, missing 10 games in three pro seasons. He's not a target of mine. Hampton was always the likely bet to take over the LAC backfield, but the Najee Harris eye injury clears the path somewhat. Hampton is five years younger than Harris and more athletic — Hampton posted a number of shiny measurables at the combine. He also showed the ability to play in all situations at North Carolina, including passing packages. Hampton has risen to RB21 in recent Yahoo drafts and could easily be a third-round staple when we move into the second part of August. Hall should be a player on the escalator and he's merely entering his age-24 season. The Jets will be a run-first offense from the jump. But New York is also going to employ multiple backs in every game plan, and then there's the presence of new QB Justin Fields, a threat to run for 1,000 yards of his own. If Hall is going to meet his expectant ADP, he needs to be active in the passing game — and Fields generally has not been a good quarterback for pass-catching backs. Tier 3: Talk Them Up, Talk Them Down $17 TreVeyon Henderson $16 RJ Harvey $16 Kaleb Johnson $15 D'Andre Swift $15 Tony Pollard $15 Aaron Jones Sr. $13 Isiah Pacheco $12 Brian Robinson Jr. $11 Travis Etienne Jr. $11 Tyrone Tracy Jr. $10 Jordan Mason Jones isn't a bad player, but it was interesting to see Minnesota add Mason to the backfield — Mason is about five years younger and he's 15 pounds heavier than Jones. It's possible Mason could become the short-yardage specialist here, and he looked like a potential feature back during his San Francisco days. Mason isn't a cheap lottery ticket — his Yahoo ADP is just outside the top 100 — but he's still someone I view as a proactive pick. Minnesota's depth is short behind this duo, so Mason will probably have a tangible role on opening day. The buzz on Harvey became a little more muted after the addition of J.K. Dobbins, but keep in mind Dobbins has been an ordinary pass-catcher all through his pro career. Dobbins has also had trouble staying on the field, playing just 37 games over five seasons. Sean Payton has always been fine with backfield platoons, but one of the backs has a realistic shot to handle 60% or more of the work. I'll keep betting on Harvey, the younger player with the higher upside. Tier 4: Some Plausible Upside $9 Jaylen Warren $9 Quinshon Judkins $9 Javonte Williams $8 Cam Skattebo $8 Najee Harris $8 J.K. Dobbins $7 Rhamondre Stevenson $7 Zach Charbonnet $6 Tank Bigsby $6 Rachaad White $6 Bhayshul Tuten $5 Tyjae Spears $5 Isaac Guerendo $5 Trey Benson $5 Ray Davis $5 Tyler Allgeier $5 Jerome Ford $5 Braelon Allen $4 MarShawn Lloyd $4 Nick Chubb $4 Jaydon Blue Liam Coen loved to throw to his backs in Tampa Bay, and Tuten was a handy receiver at Virginia Tech. The Jaguars have plenty of competition at the position, but it's possible they've soured on Travis Etienne Jr., and Tank Bigsby hasn't shown receiving chops in the NFL. Tuten isn't someone we'll draft as an initial fantasy starter, but see the long-term potential here. Although Davis is about 30 pounds heavier than teammate James Cook, don't overlook what Davis can do in the passing game. Davis was a reliable pass-catcher during his itinerant college days, and he secured 17-of-19 opportunities last year, making a juicy 9.9 yards per target. We've already had a look at what Davis might do in a featured role — he picked up a midseason start last year and rolled for 152 total yards. With Cook undersized and unhappy about his contract, Davis is one of the more interesting speculative plays on the board. Tier 5: Bargain Bin $3 Jaylen Wright $3 Austin Ekeler $3 Rico Dowdle $3 Blake Corum $3 Roschon Johnson $3 Dylan Sampson $3 Will Shipley $2 Kendre Miller $2 Kareem Hunt $1 DJ Giddens $1 Devin Neal $1 Jarquez Hunter $1 Audric Estime $1 Jaleel McLaughlin $1 Kyle Monangai $1 Elijah Mitchell $1 Justice Hill $1 Keaton Mitchell $1 Antonio Gibson $1 Devin Singletary $1 Miles Sanders $1 Kenneth Gainwell $1 Raheem Mostert $1 Jordan James $1 Sean Tucker $1 Chris Rodriguez Jr. $1 Emanuel Wilson

Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba of Inter Miami to miss MLS All-Star Game in Austin
Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba of Inter Miami to miss MLS All-Star Game in Austin

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba of Inter Miami to miss MLS All-Star Game in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lionel Messi will miss the Major League Soccer All-Star Game against Liga MX on Wednesday night. Messi's teammate at Inter Miami, Jordi Alba, will also miss the game. An MLS spokesperson said Inter Miami informed league officials that the two players will not appear in the match at Q2 Stadium. Both could face a one-match suspension for missing the All-Star Game without a credible injury report. The league will speak with Inter Miami officials before providing an update on possible suspensions. Messi missed the All-Star Game last year with an injury. Messi is tied with Nashville forward Sam Surridge for the MLS lead in goals scored with 18. Messi has scored two goals in six of his last seven matches. ___ AP soccer:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store