Lions training camp notebook, Day 3: The audience is back

One of the biggest positional competitions is already over, thanks to an unfortunate injury. Returning starter Michael Badgley is out for the season and is headed for the injured reserve after suffering what head coach Dan Campbell termed a “significant injury.”

The exact nature of Badgley’s injury is not clear, but he did not do any on-field work during Thursday’s practice session.

That leaves UFL standout Jake Bates, signed by the Lions after he set the Ford Field record for the longest field goal in stadium history. Bates had a great Thursday, going 6-for-6 in field goals.

Campbell did note in his pre-practice press conference that the team has already worked out one potential replacement for Badgley but added they are “not in a hurry” to bring in competition for Bates. The Lions did no live kicking during practice, only punting drills.

The Lions haven’t done much OL vs. DL 1-on-1s in the Dan Campbell era, especially when not in full pads. But “the pit,” as it’s commonly known, broke out midway through Friday’s practice.

I missed the first handful of reps, but I caught the last 35 or so. Overall, the offensive line won a majority decision in the bouts, with starters on both sides largely sitting it out and cheering.

Winners:

Colby Sorsdal – the second-year OT, playing LT, had two clear wins over Mitchell Agude and a nice draw with rookie DL Mekhi Wingo where Wingo won the initial battle but Sorsdal recovered very well

Nate Lynn – an undrafted pass rusher from William & Mary, Lynn had the session’s easiest win for the defense with a low rip move on Dan Skipper

Alim McNeill – No. 54 almost looked bored going against undrafted rookie Bryan Hudson, blowing through him with a simple bull rush

Duke Clemens – an undrafted rookie guard/center, Clemens had two very emphatic wins against Josh Paschal while playing guard. His quick feet and strong hand placement won both reps right away.

Giovanni Manu – the giant fourth-round rookie needed a good rep after a couple of draws. He got it by tossing James Houston to the ground when Houston stopped his feet on a stymied yank move. His offensive linemates gave him the loudest cheer of the segment.

Ike Boettger – the newcomer, wearing No. 78 at guard had a clear win against Levi Onwuzurike and a solid draw against Cominsky

Jameson Williams was not at practice, a development that was an unexpected one after his impressive start. It was an excused absence for personal reasons. Antoine Green and Daurice Fountain were the primary beneficiaries of Williams’ first-team reps. Brian Branch was also excused for personal reasons.

Rookie offensive guard Christian Mahogany remained out with an undisclosed illness.

I didn’t notice EDGE Marcus Davenport participating in any drills. Jahmyr Gibbs also didn’t do any team drills.

An undrafted rookie linebacker from Northern Illinois, Gilbert is a Detroit-area native. Playing in front of a healthy group of family and friends, Gilbert turned in a very overall impressive day.

In the very first rep of third-team drills, No. 53 patiently waited for a block to clear and then slammed into RB Zonovan Knight in the hole right at the line of scrimmage. Tackling isn’t allowed, but Gilbert squared him with both hands and lifted Knight up to stop the play.

Gilbert bagged a hustle sack in team drills, blitzing out of the slot and creating a pressure, then finishing off Nate Sudfeld after No. 8 scrambled away from both him and Josh Paschal initially. Gilbert absolutely smoked the RB (I believe it was Knight) in pass protection.

A converted safety, Gilbert showed his coverage instincts on another rep that was clearly designed to exploit the LBs in coverage. Gilbert didn’t bite on a play fake, dropped perfectly into his coverage area and forced a much more difficult throw from Sudfeld that fellow UDFA Morice Norris nearly picked off.

It wasn’t a perfect day for Gilbert. He got beaten for a touchdown in the red zone drill on a great leaping catch by TE Sean McKeon, and he lost the only special teams blocking drill I saw him in. But overall, a very strong showing from a very appreciative Gilbert, who I talked to after practice and will share later.

Friday was a good time to remember that even the Lions’ brightest stars are human sometimes.

Penei Sewell was guilty of a false start in a team drill, goaded into moving early by Aidan Hutchinson. Technically that would be one star crossing another, but neither Sewell nor offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was happy about it.

Jared Goff missed what looked like an easy downfield throw to Antoine Green, who was open in between the safeties but had no chance to play the ball. Goff also threw a hook route to Amon-Ra St. Brown that was about three yards too short despite no discernible coverage in the area. St. Brown later bobbled a ball in the red zone drill that he appeared to wind up catching, but it should have been an easy catch.

Jack Fox had an overall fantastic day punting, but his last rep went off the side of his foot and only flew about 35 yards before sailing well out of bounds to the right.

The reality of training camp is that not every player will be perfect every rep of every day.

–Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson got quite animated in an offense-only red zone passing drill that featured RBs, TEs and WRs running route combos. On one rep, the slot receiver (Tom Kennedy) made his cut on the wrong side of the tight end (Sean McKeon). Even though both caught the balls thrown to them, an angry Johnson made them repeat it to his satisfaction. Next rep was perfect and Johnson let them know that, too.

–In that drill, which lasted about 20 reps, I saw exactly one ball hit the ground, a back-line cross that Goff put just a little too much air under for Sam LaPorta to snag. It was a very impressive accuracy from all three QBs and receiving by the skill position players.

–During the initial drills, UDFA CB Morice Norris was with the first-field group and second-round CB Ennis Rakestraw was with the second-field. Each saw both second- and third-team reps later in practice.

–Kyle Peko worked in at first-team NT for a few reps, replacing Brodric Martin.

–The offense worked on some gadget plays, with offensive players also playing defense. Running out of the same initial formation, there were WR option throws, a delayed QB draw, a backside screen that looked impossible to defend and a TE/RB wheel combination that has to be seen to be believed. An offensive assistant was standing within earshot and heard my astonished laugh and gave me a very big thumbs up and smile.

–Hendon Hooker had two off-target throws but otherwise looked sharp and confident in both his pre-snap reads and his accuracy. His best throw was a bootleg to his left where he set his feet nicely and unloaded a perfect strike to Jalon Calhoun on the dead run crossing the field.

–Post-practice, safety Brandon Joseph worked on his tackling form and block-shedding on his own with a padded dummy for a good 20 minutes. He walked off drenched in sweat.

–Lots of players had their kids out, and it’s a treat to watch the players with their kids and how close some of the teammates’ families are. Watching Taylor Decker have fun with his little kids on Mt. Patricia after practice was another great reminder that these are regular people who just happen to have an extraordinary job.