LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY #1 QUOTE SHEET
JULY 29, 2026
Opening Statement: “Alright. Excited to be back. Guys are excited to be back. Guys really did a hell of a job, man. Everybody made their weights and passed the conditioning test. We looked good, all but one guy. So, ready to go. Obviously, not pads today. We’ll work them up. We’re an acclimation. This is hour and a half practice, but we’re really ready to go. So, it’s hard to believe we’re in year six for us. Guys are excited, coaches are excited. And so, it begins.”
On when Lions S Kerby Joseph will be ready for training camp and if there are any long-term concerns with Lions OL Christian Mahogany, Lions TE Tyler Conklin and Lions DB Christian Izien: “Kerby, everything that I told you in the spring still applies to that. We’ve been working to this, but we’re still in this, ‘OK, he’s running on ground, man. We’re starting to do change of directions, some of this.’ But, we’re not going to grind this for another two or three weeks. So, I cannot give you a true answer. He’s working his tail off. He has not really had a vacation. He’s been here with our guys busting his tail. So, he’s putting in the work. He feels pretty good right now. But, we’ve got a long way to go and there is still an unknown. But, I like where he’s at. We like where he’s at. (Lions DB Brian) Branch is doing well. His will be – obviously PUP, there’s no setbacks. Take it as it comes and we’ll see. I’m sure late training camp, maybe early September he can start practicing. We’ll see. But, he’s doing well. Who else? Izzy just had a little flu bug. We’re going to make sure he’s good to go. Hopefully, by Friday we get him in practice here. Mahogany needs a couple of days and then he’ll be ready. Who else? Conklin. Conklin’s going to probably be about two weeks here, somewhere in there. He’s running. He got a little calf back in the spring. We’re hopeful, no setbacks. We’re trying to be smart with him, but hopefully get him back as soon as possible, so we can get some reps on him. Am I missing anybody? I think that’s it, right?”
On the plan for getting Lions S Kerby Joseph out for training camp and balancing getting him ready while seeing how much he can do: “Well, I’ve already – to me, if we got him back for the first game, that would be a bonus. I mean, that would be a like, ‘Whoa, OK.’ I don’t expect that, I’m not looking for that. I feel like he’s more on the (Lions DB Brian) Branch plan a little bit. And that’s if everything goes well and everything goes according to plan with him and we’ve got everything on our side, but he’s doing well.”
On the release of former Lions CB Terrion Arnold, why he decided to make that decision and what changed since he was asked last asked about him: “So, I addressed the team last night over that. It stinks. You never want to let go of a player, especially somebody that you’ve been around for a while here and you drafted and all that. And it’s unfortunate that we made the move we felt was best for us.”
On if there is any concern filling former Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s spot since he departure with the players already on the team: “No. We’re fired up. Look, it’s why we got (Lions CB Ya-Sin) Rock back. We went and got (Lions CB Roger) McCreary. We knew we’d get (Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.) Rake back off injury. We drafted (Lions CB Keith) Abney (ll). Certainly, (Lions CB Khalil Dorsey) Dorse is back. So, (Lions CB Nick Whiteside) Ironsides is back. We feel pretty good in that room with the competition and those guys between veterans, young guys and ability.”
On if there is any update with Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs’s contract extension and if there is any concern over the timeline: “No, I would say – of course, you guys know how we feel about Gibbs and all of our guys, (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, (Lions DB Brian) Branch and so we’ll take this as it comes. This will kind of continue. It’ll come as it comes. I think that’s the best way to say it. This is both sides working through something and we’ll take it as it comes, but that’s where it is.”
On how soon they will know the improvement level of the revamped secondary unit: “I wish I could tell you, we’re going to know within three or four days. I know this, we’ve got four days before we even get the pads. So, there’s a week that you’re not going to truly know. So, you don’t know. I know this, as fast as we can get them in the secondary to work together. You know, ‘OK, these are the guys, now we need them to work together and get as many reps as we can.’ So, look, we’re trying to figure this out as fast as we can. It’s pretty exciting really. It really is because there’s a lot of unknown, but we really like the guys in the room. And we feel like it’s kind of like we just talked about with the DBs. It’s a good veteran group in some areas, but yet young guys that are unknown, unproven, they’ve got an opportunity. I feel like what comes out of that room, those five, is going to be better than what we had last year. It is going to be an upgrade and not just a little. I believe that.”
On if the plan changed for Lions CBs Keith Abney II and Roger McCreary to play flex outside and if there is a plan at training camp to see what he has based on shifting personnel at the cornerback position: “Well, they will take some outside reps. McCreary’s played out. So has Abney in college. Now, I know he just stepped into our building. But, they’ll take some of those outside, but we still want to let them sink their teeth into some of this nickel. And look, we’re going to let (Lions CB Ennis) Rakestraw (Jr.) take a little nickel too on some of this stuff and see where it is. But, all those guys got to be prepared to go outside. The guys we know who will stay outside right now are (Lions CB D.J.) Reed and (Lions CB) Rock (Ya-Sin). And then those other guys need to be able to – let’s see if they can do some stuff inside.”
On what he has seen in the first two years for Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. that makes him think he will stick to outside corner eventually: “Well, there again, the injury, just kind of the injury history with him has not allowed us to really see everything that he can do, but we know that’s where he banked a lot of reps in college was outside. Look, 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 arejust things that he’s got about him and there’s a natural ability to him that you feel like is conducive to playing outside. And that’s probably where he’ll have most of his time, but yet let’s see what he can do inside too. Look, he’s going into year three. Although he hasn’t banked a ton of reps, you begin to mature and you grow and we feel like just from what he is internally, I’m not talking about the football player, but just you do. You mature, you grow, you learn. And so, we’re pretty excited for him, this camp, to see what he’s got.”
On what makes the first day of this training camp exciting and unique: “This feels like there’s a little bit of a transition like there is a newness to it. And there’s a reset on – it’s a little bit like, OK, we still have our core crew, the guys that you guys know that have been here since ’21. And then we’ve stacked on top of that. But, then we made some moves here, particularly this year, this offseason. And, so there’s a newness to it. There’s a little bit of a youth movement that’s up to us to get these guys developed and that’s pretty exciting, but also knowing, man, I want to get back to what we did in ’22 a little bit. And some of ’21, probably more ’22, but just get back to the basics of what we are. And so that’s exciting. That’s exciting. And to know you’re cutting these guys loose. These guys that were puppies at one time, it’s all theirs now. It’s all (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint’s and (Lions T Penei) Sewell’s and (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch and (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell). That’s exciting.”
On Lions TE Jackson Meeks’s transition to tight end and if he sees it as a hybrid situation with wide receiver: “I think that’s what we want to find out. We want to find out if there’s something in there that he could be kind of this hybrid H-back tight end, big slot, big skill. Felt like his skillset can be showcased better at this role, at this position. Ask him things that he does well. Now look, he’s going to have to do some dirty work. There’s no way around it in training camp for the reps, preseason games, but there are things that we’ll ask him to do to see if he can do it. We just felt like this gives him the best opportunity to be the type of player that he can be, but also maybe help us see if there is something there. So yes, absolutely.”
On balancing player safety with training players in the heat and the biggest thing he has learned about training in the heat since being a player and coach: “We haven’t had to do it. I came from New Orleans as a coach last, and I mean, we did everything outside. And we practice early in the morning. We practice early here. So, even if it is a hot day, most of the time you kind of avoid it here. But, I think the thing to keep in mind is, I am so conscientious of that and being smart with our guys, understanding what we have to do. But, then remembering back to two-a-days and three-hour practices at three o’clock in the afternoon, and it was like, ‘Dude,’ you’re getting 50 reps in the morning and you’re getting 40 in the afternoon. And by the way, you’re not warming up or stretching. You better be ready to go. We’re not going to waste 10 minutes on stretch for a three-hour practice. We’ve got too much to do. So, I’m not saying we’re doing that. You can’t do that anymore. But, don’t forget, man, the body can go. The mind controls the body. You can do more than you think you can do. These guys are in damn good shape and now we got to get them in football shape and we’ll work them to that.”
On if he has made any decisions about playing the starters in preseason yet: “No, I would like to, but there again, this thing moves as we get through these practices. What do we look like? Who needs work? Do they need to play together? Are there players that aren’t getting enough intensity in practice? And the only way to get them there is they have to play preseason games or we’ve got to go live. So, we’ll work around that stuff. Right now I would like to, but we’ll see how it goes.”
