Lions training camp notebook: Top observations and notes from the penultimate practice

With no practices beyond a walkthrough since last Wednesday, and limited offensive reps in the preseason win over the Chiefs, there was a little rust from all the Lions quarterbacks on Tuesday.

I didn’t keep exact stat tracking, but in one stretch of team drills early on, starting QB Jared Goff had some misfires:

–Overthrowing Jameson Williams on a deep post

–Missing high and behind Shane Zylstra on a shallow cross, a ball that bounced off both Zylstra and LB Alex Anzalone

–Throwing low on a swing route to a RB when WR Kalif Raymond broke uncovered on a deeper combination route. That’s a read Goff almost never misses.

Hendon Hooker also struggled with accuracy early on, notably during the basic pitch-and-catch drills. After some rough misses to TE Parker Hesse, WR Jalon Calhoun and WR Tom Kennedy, Hooker eventually got it together.

Nate Sudfeld wasn’t immune, either. No. 8 completed a few throws that required serious adjustment from the target, though they were indeed close enough to get caught. Sudfeld did miss an open Isaiah Williams just as No. 83 cleared between layers of coverage.

Jake Fromm got precious little work in the session, including nary a snap in team drills.

The Lions divided up the units into three separate areas: skill positions, TE/RB vs. LBs, and OL vs. DL. I focused primarily on the linemen in what is affectionately known as “the pit.”

Colby Sorsdal needed something positive after a very rough showing in Kansas City and a general decline in performance over the last couple of weeks of camp. No. 75 got it in the pit. Sorsdal showed excellent recovery footwork in reps against Isaac Ukwu and Josh Paschal, who had Sorsdal beaten with an inside chop initially. Sorsdal’s only loss came against DT Alim McNeill, who aligned as a 7-tech and blasted Sorsdal backward–though the offensive tackle stayed in contact through the end of the rep.

It was a contrast to Jamarco Jones, who played a lot better than Sorsdal in Kansas City. That did not carry over for Jones, who got beaten to the inside by James Houston, to the outside by Isaac Ukwu and through his own tracks by Levi Onwuzurike on a bull rush where both combatants were way too tall for their respective position coach’s liking.

The battles between Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson are always worth watching. Hutchinson got a clear win by getting both hands into Sewell’s chest before the All-Pro right tackle could counter. After the rep, Sewell screamed out in disgust with himself and immediately went off to the side to practice the technique he had just missed with. No. 97 continues to have an absolutely dominant summer in Detroit.

Veteran defensive tackle DJ Reader made his first appearance of training camp. Reader remains on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn quadriceps, but he was on the field and interacting with teammates on the sidelines. Reader, wearing No. 98, was so excited to get out with the guys that he actually wore his jersey, even though he did nothing more than talking and working with trainers off to the side.

Before practice, head coach Dan Campbell indicated the Lions are hoping to get Reader actively working in individual drills next week. That would mean activating him from the PUP list before the roster cutdowns, a sign that the team believes Reader is very close to returning to full action.

Several players were not in uniform or restricted to working with trainers. Among them:

Jahmyr Gibbs

Sam LaPorta

Ifeatu Melifonwu

Kevin Zeitler

Terrion Arnold

Giovanni Manu

Dan Skipper

Malcolm Rodriguez

Campbell updated the status of the cornerbacks prior to practice. It was nice to see safety Brian Branch getting first-team reps and looking spry and ready.

In addition to those missing players, linebacker Malik Jefferson was not present. Shortly after practice ended, the Lions announced the veteran LB was waived. Detroit also placed WR Tre’Quan Smith on injured reserve and officially added LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe, who was not yet in uniform on Tuesday.

–All-Pro center Frank Ragnow looked great in the pit drill, but he took some reps off in team drills. When Ragnow sat, it was undrafted rookie Kingsley Eguakun taking the first-team reps, not Michael Niese. That’s a change from the last few practices, which saw Niese as the top center behind Ragnow. Niese spent most of the day as the second-team center but also saw some reps at right guard with both the 1s and 2s.

–I didn’t focus a lot on the receivers other than the early portion of practice. Two quick observations from that segment: WR coach Antwan Randle El yelled at Donovan Peoples-Jones to “get lower” into his breaks but No. 19 didn’t exactly implement the advice very well, and Isaiah Williams is handily the best of the wideouts competing for the No. 4/5 WR spots at transitioning from receiver to runner. Williams has great field vision and instincts as a runner.

–On that front, it was Isaiah Williams who took the first reps in a kick return drill. It wasn’t live kicking so it’s important to not read too much into it, but No. 83 has clearly passed Maurice Alexander and Kalif Raymond in the kick return pecking order lately.

–LB Ty Summers stood out against the Chiefs and had another solid day in practice. Summers showed patience and discipline in read/react situations and No. 25 can close a lot of ground in the run game in a hurry.

–Kicker Jake Bates was solid. He made every FG but one in the main portion, a 38-yarder from the left hash that he immediately made on a do-over rep from the coaches. On the last play of practice, Bates was very short and very wide right on a kick from what looked to be 65 yards into a gentle breeze.

–Scott Daly got all the reps at long snapper until the final team drill session, when UDFA Hogan Hatten came in for the final couple of snaps.

–Josh Paschal had a very good overall practice, registering one sure sack in team drills, a quick pressure on Hooker on a forced misfire to Daurice Fountain and ruining a swing pass on another. He did, however, have a loss in the pit when Eguakun pulled the chair on him as Paschal lunged into him a little too far over his toes. Paschal laid waste to Duke Clemens on his next rep with a nasty shoulder/cross that spotlighted No. 93’s power.

–Craig Reynolds broke off a long TD run, bursting through a sizeable hole created by Eguakun (playing guard) and Jake Burton, who had a picture-perfect pin block on James Houston to create the hole. Raymond and Zylstra each had nice downfield blocks, too.

–In team drills, I didn’t see Daurice Fountain or Donovan Peoples-Jones get any reps with the 1s. Kaden Davis, who caught a long TD catch-and-run in Kansas City, got a handful. Isaiah Williams got two, by my count. Fountain spent most of this practice with the 3s.

–Khalil Dorsey repped ahead of Kindle Vildor at outside CB with the 1s. The two remain locked in a fierce battle for the No. 5/No. 6 CB spots, and nobody behind them on the depth chart is remotely close to them. Carlton Davis and Ennis Rakestraw each took some reps with the 1s (and 2s for Rakestraw) but were limited. Davis looked very good in man coverage.

–Brian Branch had another case of larceny, as is quickly becoming his practice custom at safety. Branch extricated the ball from Jameson Williams after a catch that was a clear fumble, no matter how vehemently the offense says otherwise.

–There was no punting or punt return work in this practice.