The Lions get to bang pads with someone different on Friday when they host the Browns for their preseason opener at Ford Field.
The preseason is a time for coaches and front office personnel to evaluate players. It's not about scheming to beat the Browns or even beating the Browns for that matter. The Lions want to see which players compete and perform in a game setting.
In the grand scheme of the roster, the preseason is just one factor in determining who makes it and who earns a starting job. It's an important piece, though. For players like rookie offensive tackle 
“I look at every day being important no matter if it’s an off day or a walkthrough or whatever. So a game, you can figure out how important it is to us, even if it is a preseason game,” Reiff said.
Coaches have been giving
“Everybody gets a fair shot,” Reiff said of the competition. “I appreciate any reps I get and I’ll take any reps.”
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said he’s been happy with his first round pick's development thus far.
“Like a lot of rookies he’s learned something every day,” Schwartz said. “You see the athletic ability. His technique is improving. The competition against some of our defensive ends, we got some guys out there that really test the young offensive linemen and if they have a weakness in technique or in scheme, they can exploit it.”
“It’s a learning process every day and he’s been challenged, but he’s also risen to the challenge daily. You see daily improvement from him. Look at him now compared to a week ago and you see him correcting things that maybe he gave up a week ago.”
The regular season is still more than a month away and Reiff will have plenty more opportunities to impress coaches and earn playing time this season, but some first impressions will certainly be developed beginning Friday.
“You wouldn’t be playing this game if you didn’t get excited for that,” Reiff said of Friday’s game.
