Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown wasn't on the field this spring for Detroit's OTA practices as he's rehabbing from postseason knee surgery he had to 'clean some stuff up.'
St. Brown said Thursday he expects to be back on the field and ready to go for the start of training camp.
Just because St. Brown hasn't been taking part in practice over the last couple weeks doesn't mean he still hasn't had a busy spring. Like all of his teammates on offense, it's been a busy couple months in the meeting room, installing new offensive coordinator John Morton's scheme.
Entering his fifth season, St. Brown said that's been a fun process for him having to go back to school in the meeting room and learn something new. The All-Pro wide receiver said that aspect of the offseason has been exciting, learning all the new formations, alignments and twists in Morton's scheme.
"A lot of it's the same. You would like to keep the same things that you've done well in the past, two, three years," St. Brown said. "Obviously, each coach has their own wrinkles and their own little twist to what they do and what they like. Obviously, we got some different terminology, some different formations. But a lot of it, I'd say the nucleus of the offense is still there.
"But then again, we still got different stuff, too. Johnnie Mo had a way of doing things of where he was from that worked for him, and he feels like we got guys on this team that can make that work, too. He's been awesome. He's been very receptive. We've been receptive of him.
"Just to be able to have a new face, new voice, new way of teaching, it's good for us, I think. We've been so accustomed to certain things for so long that you kind of get used to it. Then something new happens, it kind of wakes you up and gets you ready. I think he's done that for our offense."
St. Brown, 25, is coming off back-to-back first-team All-Pro selections, having racked up 234 catches for 2,778 yards and 22 touchdowns the last two seasons in former OC Ben Johnson's offense. He's caught at least 100 passes in three straight seasons.
There's always a little bit of excitement and the element of the unknown that comes with learning something new. St. Brown has opted to embrace it and go all in this spring getting reacquainted with Morton, who was on the offensive staff in Detroit in 2022 as Johnson's pass game coordinator.
View photos from Day 6 of Detroit Lions OTA practice on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (97) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) and Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (39) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Myles Adams (66) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Craig Reynolds (13) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Kye Robichaux (25) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Erick Hallett (36) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Dominic Lovett (19) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (23) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Malik Taylor (86) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (39) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Zach Horton (40) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions long snapper Hogan Hatten (49) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) and Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during OTAs at the Meijer Performance Center on June 5, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
"Definitely woken me up," St. Brown said of the work being put into learning Morton's scheme. "Just having to learn new plays and new formations because I was so used to the same plays I didn't have to look. I knew what I was doing without looking.
"Now I actually have to study up some plays because I can't be messing up out there. But I think it's good for the offense and good for the guys. Coaches, too, they have to be on their toes because it's different formations. We have to lock in, but I think it's going to help us in the long run."
