O-line rotation: Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked this offseason about wanting to get younger and more athletic upfront along the offensive line and in doing so foster more competition. Detroit has open starting spots available at right tackle and left guard.
Both Blake Miller and Larry Borom worked with the first-team offense at right tackle on the first day of training camp practice. We've seen that consistently throughout OTAs and minicamp. With Christian Mahogany starting camp on the Active/Non-Football Injury list for what the Lions expect to be just a few days, we saw Ben Bartch, Miles Frazier and Juice Scruggs work into the left guard rotation with the first-team offense.
View photos of players arriving for 2026 Detroit Lions training camp.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Tyler Conklin (83) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy (85) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Michael Niese (62) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Damone Clark (11) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions General Manager and Executive Vice President Brad Holmes arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Ben Bartch (78) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard (50) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Keith Abney II (28) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Derrick Moore (9) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Luke Altmyer (2) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (91) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Tate Ratledge (69) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Eric O'Neill (66) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Thomas Gordon (82) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback De'Shawn Rucker (43) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein (99) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jackson Meeks (13) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyre West (52) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Miles Frazier (71) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Thomas Harper (12) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (86) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (44) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey (30) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Greg Dortch (8) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive back Christian Izien (27) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Trevor Nowaske (53) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Myles Adams (96) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (23) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyler Lacy (93) arrives at the Meijer Performance Center on July 28, 2026 in Allen Park, Mich. (Nicole Scharff/Detroit Lions)
Pass breakups: 7-on-7 drills are designed to give the offense an advantage with no pass rush, but veteran cornerback Nick Whiteside caught my eye Wednesday getting his hand on a couple footballs to force incompletions during a 7-on-7 period. He had another one in a team period later towards the end of practice. Whiteside played in nine games for Detroit last season with a few pass breakups. He's competing to be part of the depth at cornerback on the 53-man roster. It was a nice first day for him finding a way to stand out.
Steady connection: All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been quarterback Jared Goff’s top target since both arrived in Detroit in 2021. St. Brown has more receptions (547) than any player in NFL history through their first five seasons. The two picked up right where they left off the last five years in their first practice of the 2026 season.
Goff dropped a perfectly placed ball to St. Brown down the left sideline with cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. close behind. St. Brown made a sliding catch, got up, signaled for a first down, dropped the football and jogged back to the huddle. Goff found him in the flat for a good gain on the next play and then a couple plays later again on the right side for another good gain. Goff looked extremely sharp in the first practice of camp, and throwing to St. Brown proved to be a positive play for the offense all morning.
Catch of the day: Late in practice Goff saw a streaking Jameson Williams down the middle in a team period and launched a deep ball down the field for him. The ball hung up a little bit, but Williams went up over Rakestraw and safety Chuck Clark to make the catch. Clark and Rakestraw looked at each other in disbelief that Williams caught the ball. The play got a rise out of the offensive players watching behind the play. Williams also had a nice catch along the left sideline with cornerback D.J. Reed in very tight coverage a few plays earlier.
No. 2 cornerback spot: Both Rakestraw and Rock Ya-Sin got reps opposite Reed at the No. 2 cornerback spot. Roger McCreary got the first snaps at nickel cornerback with the first-team defense. The Lions are hoping Rakestraw can stay healthy during camp and make a run at that No. 2 corner spot.
"He's got excellent feet. His hips, man, his change of direction. He's got ball skills. He can track the ball down the field. So, there's just things that he's got about him and there's a natural ability to him that you feel like is conducive to playing outside," Campbell said of Rakestraw before practice Wednesday. "And that's probably where he'll have most of his time, but yet let's see what he can do inside too."
No Gibbs: Running back Jahmyr Gibbs didn't take part in Wednesday's first training camp practice. Campbell was asked before practice about Gibbs' contract situation.
"You guys know how we feel about Gibbs and all of our guys ... so we'll take this as it comes," Campbell said. "This will kind of continue. It'll come as it comes, I think that's the best way to say it. And so, this is both sides working through something and we'll take it as it comes, but that's where it is."
Safety spot: With no Kerby Joseph (knee), Brian Branch (Achilles) or Christien Izien (illness) at safety for the start of camp, Detroit's depth is being tested with veterans Clark and Avonte Maddox getting most of the first-team reps there Wednesday.
Punt returns: Detroit will be looking for a new punt returner this year with Kalif Raymond leaving for Chicago in free agency. It appears the Lions are going to give several different players an opportunity to win the job. During a punting period of practice Wednesday we saw St. Brown, wide receiver Greg Dortch, wide receiver Dominic Lovett, wide receiver Tom Kennedy, wide receiver Lawrence Keys and running back Isiah Pacheco back there. Pacheco let a couple balls hit the ground, but it was seamless among the others. Detroit ranked 23rd in punt return average (8.3 ypr) last season.
