LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL OTA DAY #3 QUOTE SHEET
May 29, 2026
Opening Statement: “Really, late April, our guys have been here, they’ve been working. It’s what you expect, man. The strength and conditioning, all those things and then just acclimating to football. And then obviously we started OTAs on Tuesday or Wednesday, I guess. So today will be day three, but the guys are working hard, and we wouldn’t expect anything different. And then as we all know, the OTAs we’re really doing right now for this week, it’s jog through with the team, and then we’re moving pretty good on seven-on-seven, but we’ll have two spots. We’re going to have two fields and walkthrough. So don’t read into all that. ‘I saw so-and-so on field two.’ OK. Doesn’t mean anything, the guys know that too. So, we’re working through it. This time of year, is about communication, man, working your craft, getting better at what you do, and then man, learning to work with a guy next to you, whoever that is. Nobody’s going to win a job in the spring. So that’s where we’re at. (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph), (Lions DB Brian) Branch, (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, they’re all improving.. None of them are practicing. It’s the best I can tell you.”
On moving Lions T Penei Sewell to left tackle: “Good. He’s over there, he’s been really since – he’s been working it even being back home before we started offseason, once I gave him the words. So, it’ll be like riding a bike for him. Will it be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be. But I mean he has played left. That’s muscle memory. He played a lot of left in college and for us for those in ’21, those first few games. And he still took reps at left even over the last five years, so that’ll be seamless. That’ll be seamless. Sewell can do it all.”
On his plans for Lions DB Brian Branch, Lions S Kerby Joseph and Lions TE Sam LaPorta and when they will practice again and if it is important to see them on the field again soon: “No, I don’t, that’s not the priority and it’s not worth all that anyway. Now LaPorta has taken some walkthrough, jog through, he’s done some of that, he’s not going to be out there today. But that’s not, listen, the most important thing is continue to let them improve, rehab, all that. That’ll take precedence right now. So, they’re in meetings, they’re getting the mental side of this and just take it day-to-day.”
On what other players will not be practicing today: “There’ll be a lot of guys who probably won’t practice. (Lions CB Terrion Arnold) TA probably won’t practice. We’ll have a couple of these rookies that probably won’t do very much and that’s more precautionary. Some of the rookies, it’s the same way every year, they train for the Combine or for all of those drills, they don’t train for football. So, we just got our hands on them for, I guess, going on week three, something like that. So, we just want to be smart with these guys, make sure they’re ready to get on the field to do – even though it’s not a lot to be able to do that, we don’t want any setbacks, so there’ll be some guys that, don’t read into it. I’ve told you the big three.”
On not hosting rookie minicamp this year: “Well, I think, yes, I kind of answered it there. They’re not ready, they’re not ready for football, not really. Even on a limited basis. Now it’s good you get them acclimated, you get them on the field. At least it’s your kind of first chance to do those things. And you can bring in some other guys, some veteran guys, some tryout guys, and you may find somebody you like. So, you get a little bit of that, but it’s not worth it anymore. And really the straw that broke the camel’s back last year was, it was the first walkthrough, we had guys all over the ground, so the League didn’t take too kindly to that, and it’s not worth it. It’s just not worth it. So, let’s get them ready, let’s physically get them ready to where they can get with the rest of the guys and look like football players a little bit.”
On all the changes that have occurred over the offseason: “Well look, some of it, as you guys know, every year there become new challenges, obviously between cash and cap, as we all know, right? So that’s always going to play into it. But I think it’s – when you’ve been able to hold a group together for a significant amount of time and then you don’t get the benefits you want, or the results that you want. Now there’s a lot of things that go into that, but it is probably time to shake it up a little bit. And listen, I mentioned this at the Owners Meetings, the guys that have been here that we were not able to re-sign or have gone other places, man, those guys will, we will forever be grateful to those players. They were a big part of this and for us to get up on our feet, and I wish them the best. But this is a new season, man. It’s a new season, it’s a new year, and there are a lot of things that will never change here that we’re about, but there are going to be things that we – yes, we evolve offensively, defensively, special teams, there’s a lot that we can get better at. And really the most important thing is learning to work together, man. And the more you work together, the better you get at your craft, the more you trust the guy next to you, the confidence goes up, then winning goes up.”
On if he found anything from his deep dive this offseason to implement or omit this year: “No, I just think – there are so many things that go into it there. It’s not just one thing when things don’t go the way you want them to, it’s not just one, just like it’s not one player, it’s not one coach. It takes everybody to win, and it takes everybody to probably lose, unfortunately. But I do think, man, just getting back to a little bit of the no nonsense. It’s a lot easier when nobody knows who you are. I’m talking about us as a team and all that, because now you kind of fly right under the radar, but then the better you do, the more you do, the more hype, the more you’re doing this, you’re doing this, this player gets paid, this coach, this whatever, this coach moves on now and it’s all this other stuff that has nothing to do with what got us to that point that gave everybody, we all reap the benefits of that. It’s just a little bit, let’s get back to that, man. Let’s just get back to the business of what it’s, it’s about football first and foremost, and it’s about the guy next to you. That’s it, that’s it.”
On if the players are starting buy into the no nonsense belief for this year: “Well, look, it’s not that hard. I mean, our guys, that’s the good news is, it doesn’t take – our guys know man and our guys know we’ve got the right guys. That’s why we’ve, you guys know who they are. That’s why it’s (Lions T Penei) Sewell and (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell) and (Lions QB Jared) Goff and (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch, and we can keep going, we can keep going. So those are our guys, and then let’s bring in some competitive guys that we feel like fit what we’re about. We try to do that every year. And man, they’ll mesh with those other guys. It’ll be good.”
On what new faces have stuck out: “I mean, there have been a lot of guys that have done really well, for two days in pajamas. And then there are some that are learning through it, they’re working through it, they’re learning. But I’m done with the hype of the pajama party in May. So, man, it’s about the mental, it’s about the movement skills, all that other stuff doesn’t matter. And then we’ll find out in training camp who’s who. This will be the most competition we’ve had, in my opinion, I think top tier competition. I mean, this will be good. This is going to be good across the board. So now it’s just, let’s get acclimated. We want to hit the ground running when we get to late July, August. That’s what we want. So that’s really what this time’s about.”
On which position’s depth has impressed him the most: “Yeah, there’s a lot. Yeah, I’m sure you want to know what they are.”
On if he thinks the new look offensive line will be better than last year: “I like those guys. And it’s early, but (Lions OL) Cade (Mays) man, he’s a good-looking dude, man. He’s a big man, he’s built right, moves pretty good. And now it’s just getting up to speed with our terminology, the MIKE points, all that. But I like Cade man, he’s a good fit for us. He’s a good fit for us. And same thing with (Lions OL) Larry Borom, man, moving (Lions T Penei) Sewell over to left. I think for what you want from a young guy, talking about with where we are going in week six of offseason or whatever, I like where (Lions OL Tate) Ratledge is going. That’s good, it’s good. So I feel a guy that learned a lot and has grown, has taken some of those things, so that’s good. But yeah, we’ve got a lot of competition in there.
On how Lions T Penei Sewell’s talent and mindset allow him to move positions: “Well, his talent speaks for itself and then he’s got all the intangibles, I mean that’s why he’s rare. He has all the skills, he has all the intangibles, and he works hard, man, he works hard. So he’s versatile, I mean, there’s a number of positions he could play. I think he could play guard if we want him to play guard. I’ve already told you he can play tight end if you need him to play tight end on some stuff. Just the big thing will be don’t overload him. I mean, pretty soon it’s like any other player, you start asking him to play three different positions and it starts to add up. But he’s just, he’s another one just don’t take that for granted, his ability to move and kick over. But he was good. He’ll do whatever we ask him to do, he’s a team guy.”
On how Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike has continued his momentum from last season: “I like where Levi’s at, alright? And I’ll leave it at that. He’s working, he feels good. I’m not hyping anybody up, not in May, it’s not worth it.”
On where the organization stands off-the-field with Lions CB Terrion Arnold: “Yeah, we’re good. My understanding. We’re good. And that’s all I know.”
On how the cornerbacks from the 2024 Draft class have developed: “Well, I like that room. I mean, we’ve got (Lions CB D.J.) Reed, we’ve got (Lions CB Khalil) Dorsey, we’ve got (Lions CB Roger) McCreary, we drafted (Lions CB Keith) Abney, who knows? He’s a rook, we’ll see. I mean we’ve got a number of guys in there, and also we got (Lions CB Ennis) Rakestraw and we got (Lions CB Terrion) Arnold. So you just mentioned those first two and I understand, but I mean that’s a good room, man. There’s some thick competition in there. We got a veteran guy in Reed, man, he’s done a lot, played a lot. So, it’ll be good, I mean, anything can happen.”
On if they got away from things that bothered him: “Well, I think inevitably, there are things that you get away from, but there are reasons why too. You don’t just do it to do it. Sometimes you’re trying to adjust, you’re trying to help yourself. And you may be helping yourself, but then you’re becoming something you don’t want to be because you’re forced to. So there’s a lot that goes into it. And I think more importantly, it’s about doing the little things right, not beating yourself and getting our confidence back, man. And there’s only one way to do that. You’ve got to prove to yourself you can win, you can win tight games, situational football. And the only way to do it is do it in real time. You do the best you can to prep yourself and practice for it. But when the real bullets are flying, that’s when you got to do it.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP OTA DAY #3 QUOTE SHEET
May 29, 2026
On what he likes about this time of year from a football perspective: “From a football perspective, great question. I do love this time of year and what I like about it is I kind like the rules that are in place. You can’t do everything, kind of limits you, but it really forces to me, a coach, to think about, ‘OK, how can I maximize this time with a player?’ And I think this time of year you get a chance to work with individuals and try to build players and make guys better, which I think is hard to do in the season. It’s more about big picture, the next game against this opponent, this is what we’re going to have to do. And I think this time of year it’s more about the individual player. How can I make this guy a better player, so that when we get to the season he’s obviously going to be able to help us more?”
On how much more of an emphasis is there on finding the right kick returners given the sort of reemergence of that position and what this time of year does for that: “Yeah, the kick return’s obviously a huge play, kick cover too, and it is definitely more important than it’s ever been, which is fun. But, finding the returner, yeah, obviously to me the returner is going to be crucial. I mean, at that position, those guys are touching the ball quite a bit. So, at the end of the day, obviously you want great players back there. I think it’s going to help push teams to play guys who might be doing a little bit more on the roster on offense, but they have a value for you field-position-wise on special teams too. So we’ll see.”
On Lions WR Greg Dortch adding value to the special teams: “Yeah, (Lions WR Greg) Dortch has done it. I would say he’s had kind of a – well, I don’t think he’s ever been a full-time all the time guy back there the last couple of years. I would say he’s probably similar to (Bears WR) Kalif (Raymond), right? Kalif did it for us, but in spots he won back there all the time. Similar body types. You want a guy – in my opinion, you want a guy who’s durable, who is going to be able to take some hits because I think at that position you are. Anyways, so yeah, a guy who’s durable, but Dortch definitely has done it and has been productive and had some production similar to what Kalif has done.”
On the difficulty of losing Bears WR Kalif Raymond and what he admired about Lions WR Greg Dortch before his signing: “Yeah, so number one, Kalif, I mean, yeah, an incredible player. I said it every time I came up here and you guys asked about him. I love the guy, I’m happy for him. He had a tremendous five-year run for us. I mean he came in as a guy who I think had an eight-yard average and zero punt returns for touchdowns and he left here as really probably the best punt returner in the game. He had three touchdowns over five years, no one else did. I think he had over an 11-and-ahalf-yard average throughout his time here, which really good and did a great job. And I always say about Kalif is the things you’re going to miss about him are all the things you don’t appreciate right now. The fact that he actually contributed on offense, those guys had scheme plays for him. They wanted him out there to run certain routes and do certain things. That’s a lot of value. The fact that he never turned the ball over, he made great decisions whether everybody agrees with them or not. When he is catching, when he is returning, he was competitive as heck. He returned a lot of balls, a lot of balls he returned people would fair catch and yeah, zero turnovers during his time here. So, great player, did a lot for us. (Lions WR Greg) Dortch, obviously excited to have him. He’s a similar type of player. I think he’s coming in with zero touchdowns on his career. I think his average a little bit less than what Kalif was when he came here. And so, an opportunity for him to grow and compete. I remember Dortch when he was at Wake Forest, I think I was at Philly at the time and I was evaluating him as a player and he was a down the line guy. He wasn’t one of the top guys early pick in the Draft, but he was a down the line guy and I remember thinking, ‘I think this guy’s got something in him,’ and then they brought his name up to me, obviously this offseason and to me I’m excited about having him and a chance for a guy to get a shot to compete and get better and improve, be around some good players that’ll help them out. And so, it should be exciting. We’ll see.”
On the rookies making contributions on special teams: “One of the great things about this business to me, especially in my job, is the roster flips over every year. It’s a brand-new start. A lot of new players and during my time here we’ve lost some really good players and then we’ve just kind reloaded and found a way to do that. But yeah, this class coming in, a bunch of these guys have done some things and then I think some people think these guys have done more than they have like (Lions RB Jimmy) Rolder played 13 punts, that’s it. So, if he’s playing on our punt team this year, he’s going to play a lot more than that. So, he’s got some big shoes to fill. None of these guys have covered kick or played a kick return the way they’re going to play it this year. (Lions CB Keith) Abney (ll) has zero punt reps in his time in college. So, it’s like these guys are, man, they’re green, they’ve got to grow. Am I excited about? Oh, heck yeah. That’s my favorite part of the job is trying to get a guy to be able to do something he’s maybe never done before or play at a level he hasn’t before or get a guy to improve for (Bears WR) Kalif Raymond, he came in here one way, I think he left a different way and I think that it wasn’t just me. Obviously a part of that, most of it was him and the guys he’s around. But, to me that’s the exciting thing. Can you build something better as a team than you had as an individual coming in here? So, I think these guys have talent. (Lions WR Kendrick) Law, Law probably has the most experience of any of these guys covering kicks and making tackles and production. I think he has a lot more tackles than any of the other guys coming in. So, the guy’s played a little bit more, obviously excited about him, see what he can do. But, yeah, it’s fun when you get to start over and bring new guys in.”
On what went wrong last year and what the team plans on fixing for the upcoming season: “I’m not sure I’ve got a great answer for you. I would tell you this. If somebody said to me, ‘Hey, are you guys, you’re doing something different now? There’s this new emphasis or something.’ I don’t know. I don’t see that. I know for me it hasn’t changed. I know I had a lot of emphasis on it a year ago. I’m going to have the same emphasis on it this year. You start from scratch every year. I was telling the players that this morning, I mean one of the great things about this business, it does not matter what you’ve done in the past. It only matters today. And what you’ve done before actually is probably just going to get in the way. You’re going to start to feel like, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t have to do quite as much because I have done this, that and the other thing.’ And that is not the case at all. There are a bunch of young hungry guys coming trying to get your job. These guys are coming to try to get my job. There’s a young coach out there somewhere that thinks it’s going to be better than me. So I mean that’s what you love about it, man. That’s what you want, the competition. I know this. Not today, they’re not going to be better than me. You take one of those other guys’ job, you aren’t taking mine. But, no, that’s the thing you love is the competition of this business and it’s for all of us really. But, yeah, so I don’t think anything’s changed that way now maybe there’s, yeah, did we have rookie minicamp? No. What’s that do for me? At the end of the day, this job is about getting certain results and if you don’t get them, it doesn’t matter what you do. And all I know is they give me the schedule and the calendar and they say you’re going to get to practice on this day. You get eight minutes on that day and 10 on the other. And then you just say, ‘How am I going to get the job done with that time that they’re giving me,’ and don’t worry about I missed this or I didn’t have that or we’re shifting, it doesn’t matter.”
On the growth he has seen from Lions RB Sione Vaki and other third-year players: “Yeah, I don’t know that I look for anything different from third year to first year. But, in terms of (Lions RB Sione) Vaki, I mean Vaki, he is a very good special teams player. I’ll say it that way. As a running back, he’s as good as any running back I’ve been around playing that position or playing on special teams and I’m obviously excited about him. The big thing for him is he’s got to stay healthy. He got hurt a little bit last year, that didn’t help us out, but he’s got to stay healthy. Other than that, I mean this guy’s a very talented player. He is explosive, great athlete, great guy. I think he works hard. I think he’s a passionate player, wants to do well for the team and certainly excited to have him here.”
On if he speaks to other special teams coordinators about the new onside kick rules: “Just in terms of all that, I don’t ever really get involved with the rules and the whole special teams, ‘Let’s get together in a group.’ That stuff’s not for me. I’ve always said just tell me what the rules are and I’ll figure out a way for this group to play the best that we can with those rules and the rest of the stuff, that’s for the politicians and the other type of people. That’s not my deal. I leave that to them in terms of the rule, I’m good with it. They allow us onside kick now at any time throughout the game. Great. Still not a high-percentage play. It is what it is. That’s somebody else’s job, not to blow you off, but that’s how I feel.”
On evaluating the incoming rookies and projecting how to teach them: “To me, you’re just trying to project with as much information as you have. So, obviously if a guy hasn’t played on punt that doesn’t mean he can’t play on punt. It just means he hasn’t been asked to do that. Then the first question you ask is why? If the guy is starting on defense or something like that, that might be why. If he’s not, why? Really what you’re trying to get to the bottom of is, ‘OK, how can I make the most of this guy? What are his limitations, what are his strengths and then how can we use him at the best of our ability?’ In terms of the evaluation process for (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes), they ask me to evaluate a lot of guys. I go through all of those guys. I’ll watch everything they’ve done. So I’ll watch them play on special teams. It’s obviously ideal if you can see a guy playing on special teams, it’s easier to project what you see them doing for you. But, at the end of the day, like football is football and offensive plays, there are a lot of things that relate. Just to give you an example on defense, if you’re a defensive end, you’re trying to rush a tackle one-on-one off the edge right there. Well, the kickoff play is really a one-on-one pass rush is very similar to defensive end, rushing the tackle. You’re doing it from five yards away instead of maybe one or two on the line of scrimmage, but it’s very similar. So, how’s that guy play that play on defense and do you think those skills or traits would relate or carry over and then through the years I think you build a volume of information like ‘”OK, I saw this guy do this and that actually showed up when he got here.’ And so, now I feel like when I see a guy do this on college film, I think he’ll be able to do it on NFL film because I saw that with another player. And so, throughout the years I think you kind of become a little bit more intuitive in your evaluation process. But, I would say the evaluation process or projection – and it’s difficult and Brad has got the hardest job there is because he’s picking these players and then everyone comes to him after the fact and says, well you should have picked player A, B, and C. Well, everybody should have picked player A, B, C before player D, but nobody knew that at the time. But in hindsight we all know. So, he gets compared to all these decisions in hindsight all the time, which they didn’t have that information at the time. Nobody knew.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF OTA DAY #3 QUOTE SHEET
May 29, 2025
On the addition of Lions Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing: “He has been awesome. He has been great to work with. He has got a lot of his own ideas. He has also been open to listening to everything we want to do. It’s been a fun synergy between him and I, our whole offensive staff and everything. He has done a good job.”
On the collaboration between with Lions Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing: “Yeah, it really has, he is a great listener. He really put the players first, and it’s awesome.”
On if the offense will be more similar than different this season: “That is always such a hard question. It may, by September it could be a lot different than what is today, so I don’t know. There are some things that are different than last year and some things that are same. So, always trying to improve to things that we did well last year and certainly the things we didn’t do well.”
On the new-look offensive line unit: “Those guys are doing a good job coming together. It has been fun to watch them.”
On Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell emphasizing reengaging ‘hunger’ and how it has manifested: “It has been awesome. I think he has done a good job of leading the troops like he always does and we follow suit. To some capacity, yeah there are some things like that maybe. We are always trying to get better and try to improve. I think we are hungry. We were a fourth-place team last year and we need to come out and play a lot better this year.”
On categorizing last year as ‘weird’ and dropping to fourth-place last minute: “I don’t know if weird is the word. In this League I think – that was my 10th season and this is my 11th year now. You get what you deserve to some extent, whether that is good or bad. Sure, our record was middle of the pack, but in our division that was fourth place. That is what happens.”
On the changes on the offensive line and new chemistry and cohesion: “The chemistry and cohesion will continue to go and I think they are doing a great job coming together. There have been some rotations, there is competition up there up front. I thought they have done a good job. (Lions T) Penei (Sewell) will be just fine at left and he is excited about it.”
On the new addition of Lions Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing: “Yeah, he has been fun and he has been great. His energy, his excitement about everything, his ability to listen to us but, at the same time has ideas that he really likes and stands on. It is fun, he is doing a great job and I am excited to work with him.”
On building rapport with Lions OL Cade Mays off the field: “Yeah, we will, we have not had much time yet, but we will. We will do some dinner with the O-line and whatnot. I intend to be intentional about building that relationship with him. But, he is such an easy guy to get along with, he has done a hell of a job so far, it not an easy offense to just step into and lead the charge in some ways upfront.”
On what fans might see as the biggest difference offensively: “I don’t even know, in May we have had three practices, so I have no idea. We have got a lot time before I’ll be able to answer that, probably in training camp I will be able to give you a better answer. Hopefully, score a lot more points and win a lot more games will be the biggest difference.”
On what he wants to implement or improve with Lions Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing: “I don’t know if there is anything in specific. I think he has been a coordinator previously for three years. So, he has got a great feel for what it is like to run an offense and to run a room and how to balance volume with intentionally attacking a defense and trying to find yourself in the right plays. It is hard, man, it is a lot more to it than just drawing up plays and I think he has got that extra part to it, as well as the play stuff and schemes that is great. The part that is outside of the X’s and O’s, I think he does a hell of a job with and it has been a lot of fun.”
On a new coordinator installing an offense and connecting with players: “It’s communication, it is knowing when to balance simple easy concepts with complexities that we can all handle and then knowing how to install, how to keep it fun and keep the energy up and how to hold guys accountable and lead and be able to be in front of a room. He’s great at it. It’s awesome. It’s a lot of fun to be in a room with him.”
