Phase Two of the offseason training program is in the books, with Phase Three/OTAs starting next week.
The Lions players signed in free agency have now had several weeks with their new team, and are starting to settle in.
"It feels different, in the sense it's fresh faces and a fresh team," tight end Luke Willson said. "It's a fresh everything for me personally. These coaches don't know me. I want to prove myself."
The recent turnover at tight end means Willson should have plenty of opportunity to prove himself in Detroit.
"Yeah, I think everyone feels like that," he Willson said. "But right now, again, I think the main focus this year for me and the Lions is winning games. Right now, in order for us to win games, I have to get better individually and that's really what we've been locked in on as a team. Just each guy getting better so we can put this thing together because it's coming quick. It'll be here quick."
A big part of getting to know your new team is getting to know your teammates, a process linebacker Devon Kennard is really enjoying.
"Oh JD, he's a great leader," Kennard said when asked about his first impressions of Jarrad Davis in particular. "He works hard. I think he has a very bright future and he's a great teammate. It's been a pleasure getting to know my teammates so far."
A good rapport with your teammates is always important, especially for linebackers.
"We have to run the show as the linebackers," Kennard said. "We have to coordinate sometimes with the DB's meeting and sometimes with the d-line and I think having that continuity with the whole defense at linebacker is really important."
For the other new guys in Detroit, the rookies, it's still very much the beginning of a long learning process.
Any projections at this point are purely guesswork, although next week's OTAs could start to provide a clearer picture of where everyone fits in.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:
- The Lions signed three free agents Monday, and were awarded offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty via waivers from the New York Giants Tuesday.
- How will the new offensive linemen help the run game? Tim Twentyman covers that and more in his latest 10 Questions column.
- View photos from the 2018 Taste of the Lions event at Ford Field.
