Last Thursday's game in Buffalo was the first football game Detroit Lions rookie right tackle Blake Miller has missed – ever.

From the time he started playing the game as a kid, through high school and then four years at Clemson, Miller never missed a game. So naturally, it was a weird night for him watching the game on television as he rehabbed a knee injury he suffered Week 1 vs. New Orleans.

"It sucked," Miller said Wednesday of missing the Bills game. "Not being there for my team was horrible."

Miller said if the game had been on Sunday instead of Thursday, he probably would have been able to play, but he just ran out of runway on a short week. He said he got the same pre-game jitters ahead of watching the game at home by himself last Thursday. He confessed to yelling at the television a couple times, and hopes to never go through that again.

Miller was back on the practice field Wednesday and is trending toward a return to the starting lineup Sunday against a talented New York Jets defense and a fellow rookie star in the making.

New York ranks No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 in run defense and No. 2 against the pass heading into Week 3. Fellow rookie and No. 2 overall pick David Bailey has been very good for the Jets to start the year, and Miller will see his fair share of Bailey across from him on Sunday. Bailey's just the second player in the NextGen Stats era to register five-plus pressures in each of his first two career games (Joey Bosa in 2016).

"I think (Miller) will be okay," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday. "He's going to be out there (at practice Wednesday) and take most of the snaps, so that's a good sign. So, barring any setback, he'll be out there (Sunday)."

As for the matchup with Bailey, Campbell thinks it will be a good one.

"It should be really good. Bailey is a speed ball, but he's got power, though. He's kind of a speed ball between he and (Will) McDonald IV over there right and left in their speed package. So, it'll be a different flavor than what (Miller's) had with our guys, and really what he's faced to this point. So, it'll be a pretty good battle."

Miller faced Bailey in college when Bailey was at Stanford before transferring to Texas Tech for the 2025-26 season. Miller said the first time he watched Bailey on film he thought he was really talented.

"Scouting report stuff, they kind of glossed over him a little bit and said, 'Oh, he's talented,' but didn't go super in-depth," Miller said. "I remember sitting there and talking to my other tackle in college and we were like, 'This guy is a special player.' Got out there during the game and he was a really good player and have kind of been vindicated a little bit with his success in the league and where he was drafted."

With Miller and left guard Christian Mahogany (hip) back at practice Wednesday, Detroit expects to be better prepared upfront to face a talented Jets defensive front. Campbell thought Miller had a good outing Week 1 vs. New Orleans and expects his trajectory to continue going upward with his second opportunity Sunday at home.

"I felt great today out at practice. It's a blessing to be back out there again and being able to move around," Miller said. "Kind of reframes your mentality a little bit. Some days can seem a little long at times, but when it gets taken away from you, you really understand what a blessing it is to be out there with your teammates. Just a little extra pep in the step today and ready to attack it and get after it this week."

MCNEILL SNAPS

Alim McNeill has had quite the workload over Detroit's first two games, playing 149 defensive snaps against New Orleans and Buffalo. It's the most snaps played by an interior defensive lineman through the first two games of the season since 2006, according to Pro Football Focus.

The next closest interior linemen snap counts this season are from Tennessee's Jeffrey Simmons at 116 snaps and Indianapolis' DeForest Buckner at 115.

McNeill missed practice Wednesday for personal reasons, but Campbell said it was nothing to worry about and McNeill will be ready to go Sunday.

Lions run game coordinator and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers said Wednesday they will monitor McNeill's snaps moving forward and they want to get more players involved, particularly rookie Skyler Gill-Howard, to help ease McNeill's workload.

ROSTER MOVES

With Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on PUP and safety Avonte Maddox likely out for the season with a foot injury, the Lions signed rookie safety Bishop Fitzgerald to the active roster from Pittsburgh's practice squad. The team placed Maddox on Reserve/Injured and released linebacker Joe Bachie to make room on the 53-man roster.

"Man, let's do it," Fitzgerald told reporters Wednesday on his response to his agent calling him with the opportunity to sign with Detroit. "Great place. Great culture, already. So, I'm super happy to be here."

Fitzgerald was a first-team All-American at USC in 2025 after notching five picks in 10 games. He had 10 interceptions over his three-year college career.

Fitzgerald ended up going undrafted before landing in Tennessee for training camp and then Pittsburgh's practice squad after being cut by the Titans. The only two safeties in the country with higher PFF grades than Fitzgerald last season were Oregon's Dillon Thieneman and Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, both drafted in the first two rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.

"Just do my thing on special teams, if I get the chance," Fitzgerald said of his acclimation period in Detroit. "And as the weeks keep stacking up, catch up with the playbook and from there it's up to me to do my job."