LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
November 21, 2025
On how Giants QB Jameis Winston playing instead of Giants QB Jaxson Dart changes their offensive dynamic: “Well, I think there are a lot of things that – I think the core of what they do, and the pro-style offense itself is not going to change. And I think even if Dart had played, there wasn’t going to be a ton of quarterback run, things of that nature. So, I think the run game itself stays intact, I think the pass game – there is some vertical pass game to it. I don’t think it changes a ton. And look, I know Winston very well, man. This guy, he can put it on a dime. He’s not afraid to freaking rip it in there, he’s competitive, smart guy. And so look, he’s going to give him a chance. He’s played a lot of games, man, won a lot of games. But we’ve been prepared for both, we’ve made sure that we prepared just in case if you got a little different flavor with Dart. But we kind of felt like Winston was probably going to be the guy.”
On Giants QB Jameis Winston: “He’s a great human being, he is. He’s a leader, man. He’s one of those guys, I think a lot like (Buccaneers QB) Teddy (Bridgewater), just people gravitate to him because he is, he’s such a positive, upbeat, competitive. Man doesn’t get frazzled, doesn’t get worried about the small stuff. He’s just a great dude, man. And he does a lot of things for a lot of people. That’s the type of guy he is. Enjoyed our time together. He’s a pro, man, he’s a stud.”
On Lions WR Kalif Raymond and what it would mean for him to break the franchise record for punt return yards: “Well, knowing Leaf, he’s not going to say much about it if it happens. And if it does, he’s going to credit the rest of the guys around him because that’s just how he is and how he thinks, the only reason he would’ve had a chance is because of the people around him blocking, helping him get there. For everybody who knows Leaf and what he’s capable of, it would mean a lot. Because the way the guy works, all the different jobs he does for us, the unselfishness, the quickness, the explosion, the tenacity, the fearlessness to take some of these. I mean, he’s busted some of these big ones by being fearless, man. Getting over there making a tough catch with a guy in his face and then cutting it loose. I mean, not everybody can do that. That takes – you’ve got to be wired a little different, and he is. And I mean that in a good way. But that’s the goal, let’s get this thing for him. Just get a hat on a hat, he will do the rest. Say it all the time, it’s like a lot of our skill players. Man, just put a hat on a hat and those guys will do the rest.”
On the players who have recently returned to practice and if he anticipates any of them playing this week: “I feel pretty good about (Lions LB) Malcolm (Rodriguez) going, I feel pretty good about (Lions CB) D.J. Reed going right now. Those would be the two that I’m probably the most optimistic about, and (Lions EDGE Marcus) Davenport’s close.”
On what he has made of Lions DB Brian Branch so far this season: “That he’s productive as hell. And I get it, man, sometimes you go into these games, and you feel like, ‘Am I really a factor or the factor I want to be?’ And some of it is because you’re not getting targeted, or the run goes the other way, or – but I can tell you this, he’s a force. He’s a force, he’ a productive player. He does a ton of things for us, he puts a lot of fires out. and I go back to his versatility in coverage, in pressure, and playing in the box, run game. I mean, he can play deep, but he can play in the box. He just does so many different things for us at a high level. So, he’s having an outstanding season.”
On if he has noticed teams going away from Lions DB Brian Branch in the passing game: “I don’t know, that’s kind of hard to say whether they have or they haven’t. I mean, I think a lot of these, even if they did, he’s sticky coverage, but it’s also they don’t have time to get it to him. Our front’s done a hell of a job of being disruptive and getting in the quarterback’s face. But I’ve said it before, BB can cover now. He’s one of our best cover guys. And he can cover anybody. He can cover receivers, tight ends, backs, you name it. Whatever you need, he’s got it.”
On Lions CB D.J. Reed and how he has looked in practice: “He looks good. He looks good. He looks like he’s back off the injury, he’s running around well. Certainly, any of that’s going to be the more he gets back on the field and just gets his feet back under him. It’s been a minute but yet, he’s played a lot of ball too. And so, it’s not going to take very long. It really is like riding a bike. But happy to see him out there, and I know he’s ready to go.”
On Lions S Kerby Joseph’s injury status: “Doing better. Doing a lot better, progressing. Progressing, progressing.”
On Lions S Kerby Joseph’s game status for this weekend: “Probably slim.”
On how he will know the team is back on track: “I think you worry about – I go back to this, man, we need to play our best ball against the Giants, because it’s the next opponent right in front of us. And then you go from there. You want to start stacking some of these together, back-to-back-to-back. And so, it starts right now, playing in all three phases against the New York Giants who are coming into town, that’s where it starts.”
On if he has an explanation for why pass interference calls have not been called on any of their opponents: “No, it’s interesting. We’ve talked about that before, it is interesting. Sometimes I guess that – like (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint. Saint’s so freaking strong that he can pull himself out of being held pretty good, and you don’t necessarily – whereas there’s some other guys, if you don’t have a lot of strength at one tug, you can really notice it. I do think there’s something a little bit that falls into that. As far as everything else, I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know.”
On if there is a teaching point to drawing pass interference calls: “Fall down. Just flop and fall down. And then if the ball gets picked because you fell down, then you guys are like, ‘Why did he fall down? Why didn’t he try to go for the ball?’ Well, you know. No, not really. I mean look, we tell our guys we know we’re playing tight man coverage, tight match. We know these guys are going to really try to play sticky like our guys do. Man, it’s about separating. You do everything you can to separate violently. And we just preach it, we talk it, and I do feel like our guys do a good job of separating. But I don’t know why we don’t get calls.”
On Lions TE Sam LaPorta: “So look, Sam did have a procedure and he’s going to be out for a while. A while. I think we would be fortunate to have a chance to get him back for the rest of the season, at some point. I think that’s very, very slim. Good news is the procedure went really well, long term.”
On how losing Lions TE Sam LaPorta shifts the offense schematically: “Well, I believe in using multiple packages. Certainly, I want to get our playmakers on the field, but it’s also – still want to be able to dabble in some 12-personnel, just because I think that’s good for us up front and it enables us to do other things. It sets up a little bit more of what you do offensively. No, it doesn’t mean we’d go 60 reps of it, but we still use it. Certainly, losing Sam hurts. That hurts. But we’ll adjust, we’ll adapt. We’ve got plenty of weapons here, and our O-line’s going to do a hell of a job.”
On how losing TE Sam LaPorta alters their use of 21-personnel: “I mean, not much. A little bit. There again, like I said, losing Sam hurts because he’s a hell of a football player. He can do it all. Run block, obviously the receiver that you get. But yet we’ve still got (Lions TE) Brock (Wright) and there’s things he can do, we’ve got (Lions TE) Ross Dwelley, we’ve got (Lions T Dan Skipper) Skip. There’s a good chance we may bring (Lions TE Anthony Firkser) Firk this week, Firkser. And so, we’ve got some versatility.”
On where Lions OL Miles Frazier will fit into the offense when he returns: “Well, we’ve kind of – that’s a good question – we’ve really worked him at both spots. I mean, he’s doing some tackle for us, but then he’s kicking in at guard, too. So, right now, we’re just trying to get him – it’s kind of like alright, well if he’s going to go he’s got to be able to play multiple spots if something happens. So, we’re kind of moving him around, but I would say we do it, we try to give him, ‘Alright, here’s some tackles reps.’ Bam, bam, bam. And then move him, ‘Alright, here’s your guard.’ Bump, bump, bump. And then do our best to not bounce him play to play, at least let him sink his teeth into some of it. So, he’s kind of doing a little bit of everything right now.”
On what it is about certain young players where he feels confident that they are able to play in multiple spots: “I think some of it, honestly – I would love to do that. I would love to say, ‘This is what you need to focus on, this is it.’ But some of it is also, well what is he going to be best at right now? I mean, we just got him back. We got no camp, we got nothing. Like, (Lions OL Christian) Mahogany, we knew he played guard. And we knew he was a guard, you’re going to focus on guard. And so, we never really were – whereas (Lions OL Miles) Frazier’s played tackle, he’s been a tackle, and he’s played guard. And so, it’s kind of like alright, what is he best suited to play here in the NFL versus watching him against our defense, our guys. But also, where could we need the most help? So, we’re just trying to get him both. And it’s not easy, but yet that’s the task we’re given right now.”
