The Lions reached the halfway point in the preseason after falling 30-14 to the Bengals Thursday night at Ford Field.
After a strong showing Week 1, the team's performance in their second exhibition appearance fell a little flat.
One thing that continues to be a bright spot for the Lions though, is the Matthew Stafford to Marvin Jones Jr connection. Jones added four more receptions for 65 yards to his Lions resume against his former team Thursday night.
"I think (Stafford) has gotten in a pretty good rhythm with (Jones)," head coach Jim Caldwell said. "Where he has a feel for him. They made a couple of pretty nice throws along the sideline and Marvin made a couple nice catches. It's coming. I think that's coming."
While the passing game continues to be a strength for the Lions, the run game is still a work in progress. It's tough to judge without starting running back Ameer Abdullah in the lineup, but there's definitely room for improvement.
"It just takes work," Caldwell said. "It's just like anything else. You just have to keep working at it. Sometimes you just have to be a little more patient. We got work to do. We'll get it there."
LEVY RETURNS
Starting WILL linebacker DeAndre Levy returned to practice Tuesday afternoon after the team removed him from the active/non-football injury list earlier that morning.
Levy participated in individual drills, the first step toward his full return.
"It feels good," he said after practice. "I've been headed in the right direction since I got hurt. I feel the same.
"I expect to be ready to roll Week 1."
As expected, Levy sat out Thursday night, but he warmed up with the team in full pads and a helmet.
TRANSACTIONS
The Lions started the week with a couple transactions, signing tight end Andrew Quarless and linebacker Dominique Tovell.
Quarless, who joins the team despite an upcoming two-game suspension, is embracing a second chance in Detroit.
"I spoke to a lot of people in the organization and I was able to have genuine conversation," Quarless said Monday of the events leading up to his signing. "That was the most important thing. They were able to get a feel for me and it was all good conversation."
The team also signed offensive lineman Lemuel Jeanpierre on Wednesday. Jeanpierre joins the Lions following a five-year career with the Seattle Seahawks.
PRACTICE RECAP
If you missed any of the practice action this week, we've got you covered:
Aug. 15: Photos | Highlights | Observations
Aug. 16: Photos | Highlights | Observations
CAMP SPOTLIGHT
Each day of training camp, Tim Twentyman tracked the performance of one player in a feature called Camp Spotlight.
Check out the last two installments below:
- Running back Zach Zenner
- Safety Miles Killebrew
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:
- Watch Lions players guess which of their teammates had the fastest and slowest speed ratings in this year's Madden 2017 video game.
- Go behind the scenes with Episode 2 of "Inside the Den" Detroit Lions 2016 training camp.
- After making plays in back to back weeks, rookie running back Dwayne Washington is trending in the right direction.
