Why Lions OC John Morton spent his summer in the lab: Training camp news and notes

New York Times

3 days ago

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Lions' preseason debut is fast approaching, with just one more practice until Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
It feels like the Lions have been ready for a few days now. But the extra help doesn't hurt.
Here's what we saw on Day 7 of Lions training camp.
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Lions offensive coordinator John Morton delayed his vacation this year. No beaches, no trips to Cancun. He instead used his time to do what most offensive coordinators would rather be doing: locking themselves away and grinding tape.
It's what you'll come to learn about Morton.
'I was in Denver with him,' wide receiver Tim Patrick said of Morton. 'One thing you're gonna get out of Johnny Mo is he's going to be the hardest worker in the building. He's going to sleep here some nights.'
'He is a hard-working guy,' said Jon Gruden, in attendance for Lions practice to watch Morton and his other mentees on staff in action. 'For all the Detroit fans, what you don't see is the work ethic that you're getting. This guy is nuts. People thought I was nuts. This guy is freaking nuts, man. He loves it, he's a creative guy, he's a great competitor, and I can't wait to see the Lions open up the season.'
That's a common answer when you ask about Morton. He's viewed as a tireless worker with an eye for detail. When he was a senior offensive assistant in 2022, he helped install some of the passing concepts and route combos the Lions still use to this day. If coach Dan Campbell needed a situational play call back then — red zone, third-down, etc. — he'd often turn to Morton for one. The more stories you hear like this, the more the hiring makes sense. He helped build this thing. Now he has the chance to put his stamp on things.
'I just love the whole aspect of just sitting in my laboratory by myself and trying to dissect the defense,' Morton said. 'I think that's fun.'
The Lions might have another mad scientist on their hands. Morton discussed a few plans for the offense this season and the reasons behind them. Here are a few:
• Morton on the downfield passing game: 'I'm isolating guys. I want to give them the chance, so I'm taking more shots. … I'm all about that because we have the guys that can do it. So, if you got them, utilize them.'
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• On running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery being on the field at the same time 'We can throw it, we can run it, we can do whatever we want. I'm all about making the defense uneasy, and then maybe I might get an automatic defensive front coverage or a blitz, or something like that. I'm always looking to put our best players on the field at all times.'
• On trick plays: 'Well, we'll see. I'm going to do what Dan — whatever he wants. But we're going to have everything. …Whatever was working, we're going to continue to do that.'
If you just watched the first few days of Lions camp, you might be inclined to give the starting center nod to Tate Ratledge. The Lions were frontloading him early, intentionally giving him everything he could handle. It was hard to get a feel for exactly where he was, though, without the benefit of pads.
The Lions have been in full pads for three practices now, and if those practices are an indication of where they're learning, the job might be Graham Glasgow's to lose.
'I do like where we're at right now,' Morton said of the center battle. 'I think Ratledge has done a good job. I mean, we had him at center first, and now we moved him to guard. Glasgow is at the center now, I think that's more natural for him. Because that center and quarterback (relationship), that needs to be right. The quarterback has got to feel right right there. I do like the way it's going right now. It's still early, the more we do it, the better we're going to get.'
None of that should come as a surprise, but it is noteworthy coming from the coordinator himself, on the heels of a trend we've seen in practice. Glasgow is much healthier now than he was when he last saw him in January, playing through a few injuries with the Lions already down Kevin Zeitler in the Commanders game. Glasgow tends to downplay his injuries, but it's hard to judge him from that performance with the added context. That alone should help him in 2025. But a move inside could be what's best for both Glasgow and the team.
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Glasgow, not Ratledge, has handled center responsibilities each of the last three practices. They've all been full-padded practices. Morton said center comes naturally for Glasgow, which makes sense because he has meaningful center experience. Ratledge doesn't.
What Ratledge has going for him is athleticism. If the Lions want something closer to what they had in Ragnow at center athletically, it would be Ratledge. You could put him there and deal with the growing pains that might come from his inexperience. But the biggest revelation might've come from Glasgow himself, speaking with a handful of local reporters off to the side after practice.
'I do like playing center,' Glasgow said. 'Center's fun. I like the mental load that comes with it. I think it's a challenge, but that's something that I'm pretty good at, so I like to do it. If it came to me having to play center and make the calls or me be a guard and think about the calls anyway — just to make sure the calls are right — I'd probably rather just play center.'
There's a common misconception about Glasgow. He's been vocal about the challenges of moving from center to guard midseason, which he's had to do on occasion because of injury. He's also talked about his preference for playing right guard over left. That wouldn't be the case in 2025. He likes the idea of being the full-time center. And if the Lions are going to ask him to help their young guards anyway, why not do it at center?
So, to recap: Morton thinks center is more natural for Glasgow than it is for Ratledge. Ratledge has never played the position in a college or NFL game and would be learning on the fly. Glasgow likes playing center and thinks it would be easier than helping Ratledge identify defensive threats as a guard. And the Lions have had Glasgow exclusively at center in each of their padded practices.
Still early, but it's starting to feel like this one is winding down.
The Lions ran two two-minute drills near the end of practice — one between the starters and another among the reserves. The situation for the starters: a little over a minute left, two timeouts, scoreless game with the first half drawing to a close. Quarterback Jared Goff overthrew Gibbs on a wheel route and receiver Jameson Williams down the right sideline on various deep shots. Defensive tackle DJ Reader had a pair of pressures resulting in incompletions, with defensive end Aidan Hutchinson getting involved as well. The starting offense fizzled out after a sack by safety Brian Branch, which set the group back to a point of no return. A win for the defense. They've been excellent so far — particularly Hutchinson, Reader, Branch and cornerback Terrion Arnold.
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The second-team offense faced a different situation: about 1:28 left in the fourth quarter, down 24-20, ball at the 30, in need of a touchdown. Quarterback Kyle Allen hit tight end Shane Zylstra on consecutive throws to start the drive. Allen took a deep shot to Patrick that fell incomplete, then found receiver Isaac TeSlaa for a gain of 22 yards on a third-and-11 conversion. On the final play of the drive, Allen found receiver Tom Kennedy in the end zone with seconds remaining to take the lead. A strong, confident drive from Allen. He and Hendon Hooker have both looked sharp. I think the Lions will carry three QBs into the season.
• Lions safety Kerby Joseph and nickel Amik Robertson did not practice Monday. Robertson told me he's 'all good' walking off the field in street clothes. Joseph, wearing a compression sleeve on his left leg, declined to comment. We'll hear from Campbell on Tuesday.
• Safety Ian Kennelly and running back Sione Vaki returned to practice. Vaki was limited.
• Montgomery made quick work of linebacker Jack Campbell in the open-field tackling drill. Didn't break a sweat. Campbell has improved quite a bit in many areas of his game, but his open-field tackling still needs work. These pairings are by design.
• Linebacker Alex Anzalone was back with the first-team defense after being limited to walk-throughs and position drills Saturday.
• Tight end Sam LaPorta easily handled Branch on back-to-back reps in the tackling drill Monday — first on a spin move, then a stiff arm. That is, uh, no small feat. Branch is usually driving someone into the dirt on this drill. LaPorta also scored on consecutive plays in the red zone period. He's quietly been one of the best players in camp.
• I had Branch with three separate wins in the WR-DBs drills against Kalif Raymond, Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
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• Arnold locked up Patrick on a one-on-one fade route in the end zone during the WR-DB drills. He continues to impress. Patrick acknowledged he didn't have a great day of practice.
• TeSlaa made a nice diving catch in the end zone over cornerback Tyson Russell.
• Reader has been one of the more impressive players in training camp. This is his first full offseason with the team, and he's been highly, highly impressive.
• Defensive back Erick Hallett has been one of the first DBs off the bench to fill in with the first-team defense. I'm keeping an eye on him.
• There were three bad exchanges between Allen and center Kingsley Eguakun. Hard to tell who was at fault in real time, but Eguakun has a chance to be the third center this year.
• Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, returning from knee injuries, got some work in off to the side. Wingo told me he's working his way back and the team is being cautious with him. He feels good.