West Palm Beach, Fla. — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell met with the media Tuesday morning at the league meetings. Here are the highlights from that 40-minute session.
O-line not settled
An offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link. Last season, particularly down the stretch, that weak link was Graham Glasgow. There were clearly some injury factors at play, so I asked Campbell about his confidence in the veteran lineman.
"You know, every year, certainly, you play that position, and it's a year later, you know?” Campbell said. “But Graham's somebody that we still value because he's got versatility. …I think people forget that some. Man, he can do an excellent job at center, as a matter of fact. So I think there are things that he brings to us that are not always easy to find.
“So, yeah, we have confidence in him,” Campbell said. “And there again, the fact that you know he can play all the positions, man. That lets you breathe easy."
That’s an endorsement, but at no point did Campbell declare Glasgow a starter. There was a follow-up about whether the team was considering moving the veteran back to right guard, where he thrived in 2023. The coach said that’s one of a number of options being considered, including kicking Giovanni Manu inside.
“That's a thought, man,” Campbell said about moving Glasgow. “We've talked about that. Do you go back to right and is it Mahogany left? Is it somebody we drafted? You know, you're gonna do your best to let these guys compete and see where they're at. I mean, do we try Manu guard? That's a thought. So, we're gonna try to let these guys compete a little bit and move them around and see what's right, see where we're at. It's not gonna be set in stone."
With Manu, Campbell said the young tackle got very little work at guard as a rookie.
”It was only scout team and it wasn't a lot of it,” Campbell said. “You're gonna kind of take a leap of faith and push those reps and see if he can grow from them, you know? Do you do that or do you keep him outside? Those are just some of the thoughts that I've had, we've had."
In good shape, but more to come
Echoing comments made by general manager Brad Holmes a day earlier, Campbell expressed contentment with the way the team's defensive line has been taking shape.
"Yeah, look, where we're at right now, we're excited," Campbell said. "We really got everybody back that we wanted to get."
That plan included re-signing Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport. Asked about concerns with the latter's durability, the coach noted it was an obvious consideration, but feels the reward outweighs the risk.
"Those are things that always weigh," Campbell said. "We think it weighs on us, it weighs on the players, too. But you want to know, I think for us, that he still wants to go. Like, 'Man, I'm willing to attack this, continue to get better,' which he has. I think as long as he's willing to make another push, believes he can get this done, and we feel like the rehab and everything has gone well, we think this will heal, everything is right about it, then, yeah, we feel good.
"If it goes the way we think it's going to go, Davenport is going to be a hell of player."
Still, even though Holmes said the room was getting full, Campbell said the team is eying the addition of more talent.
"We're not done, either," Campbell said. "We don't know when. Maybe it will be the draft. We're looking at everything. It could be after the draft. It could be any time. But, at this point with where we're at, we do, we like where we're at. Getting Levi back was big."
More joint practices on the way
Campbell has typically shared the team’s joint practice plans at this event. However, after getting some grief for prematurely letting the cat out of the bag, he’s keeping things closer to the vest this spring.
“I’m not going to say yet, because it seems like every year I’ve done that, it’s been this explosion, like, ‘Hey, I wish you would’ve told us before you did that, because we haven’t told our media,” Campbell said. “I was like, ‘All right.’ So, yeah, we’ve got something in the works. We’ll see what happens.”
Campbell said he’s hoping to have sets of joint sessions with two teams this offseason.
Bring it on
Earning a first-place schedule after winning the division last season, the Lions are set to face a brutal gauntlet of road matchups. Beyond the annual trio of NFC North games, the slate also includes trips to Kansas City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Washington.
Campbell, unsurprisingly, is excited by the daunting challenge. He's even hoping Mother Nature steps up her game, making things even more trying.
"Yeah, it's like anything else, you're always looking for these nuggets, man, of motivation," Campbell said. "This is a challenge. We're competitive, I'm competitive, so yeah, I love the thought of it. These are going to be outdoors, (on) grass. I hope it rains, it's mud, it's everything, the whole deal.
"This is going to be a meat grinder, you know?" Campbell said. "I've said this before, we could be a better team than we were last year and have more losses. There is a chance that could happen. That's OK. As long as we learn from what those are and we get better coming out of them, we'll be good."
Campbell said the team's goals remain unchanged — win the division and earn the No. 1 seed. But regardless of how they get there, he embraces the idea that any team in the playoffs has a realistic chance to win it all.
"The bottom line is this, it doesn't matter, just get your *** in the playoffs," he said. "Just get in and it's about the matchups and making the most of that day. And along the way, we've got to get better throughout the year. We've got to be much better than we were to start the season."
R section at the end of this piece for a summary.
