LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
June 5, 2024
On what injury Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs has dealt with that has kept him out of OTAs and minicamp: “Oh, it’s just soft tissue.”
On if the injury to Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs is something that carried over from last season: “No.”
On what players like Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Lions DB Brian Branch miss by not being able to practice this time of year: “Yeah, certainly you miss growth. I mean, we’ve got – that’s the thing of being a young player, you kind of miss this six-to-eight-week period of growth, you really do, from that physical standpoint. Now, we’ve got enough – they’re paying attention, they’re in meetings, and so you’re getting the mental side of this to where you can improve, so that helps. But yeah, there is a piece that’s missing, and they’re going to have to make it up in a hurry when we get into training camp. So, will it set them back? Eh, they can make this up. But certainly, they’ve missed a piece of this.”
On if the plan is to continue to mix and match players like Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez at the fullback position or if the position is being phased out: “No, we like a fullback if it makes sense and it’s somebody we know can help us at that position and can dictate to the defense. That’s really what you’re trying to do. It kind of forces the defense into a look that you want, usually. But we’re not going to force it either. Like, right now, ‘Hey, Rodrigo’s playing,’ – he’s at the linebacker position competing, we’ve got a stable full of tight ends that we’re working with a little bit, so that could be a tight end, it could be one of those guys, it could be (Lions DL) Alim McNeill when the time comes, but we’re not going to force it either and we’re not going to go out and start looking through, scouring rosters and saying, ‘Let’s go find a fullback.’ If the right guy shows or our right guy is here, we’ll figure it out. If not, then we’ll use a tight end.”
On if they would use Lions DL Alim McNeill as a fullback in the vein of William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry: “Well, look, Mac can do it. It’s just a matter of, ‘Do you want to do that?’ He can do it, it’s just, ‘Alright, how many plays did he just play on this last drive? Was this a 10-play drive, is he – got his energy back to run out there at fullback?’ We’ve talked about it for a while, so you never know, we could throw him in there.”
On what the end of the year did for the confidence of Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu and if he has seen that confidence translate to being a player you can count on: “Yeah, any time you’re able to – you get some real game experience at the position, which was somewhat new for him, it really is, it only helps you. And so, there is some growth that took place for him. He made some plays for us just as a pressure player. He came up with some huge plays – Minnesota, that was a huge play at the end of that game, and so now you’re trying to continue to help him grow and get him a little bit better at it. So, it’s been important, it’s always – man, any time you can get real experience, in-game, season experience, you’re going to learn from it and really grow, and he’s done that.”
On what the value of Lions WR Kalif Raymond is in the offense: “Yeah. Leaf is our – he’s another one of our Swiss army knives. He does it all for us. His versatility to play all the positions – he can play the X, the F, the Z, and he’s our returner, he’s got real return ability, and speed. So, he mentally knows those three positions of the offense and he’s got speed, so he’s a guy that’s always going to have a place in our offense, it’s a matter of, ‘How much do you use him and where do you use him at?’ But he’s going to be a critical piece for us offensively, but as a returner too because – the new kickoff too, now, it might be right in his wheelhouse as well.”
On what the benefit is to signing players to contract extensions early in the offseason: “Well, from a club standpoint, any time you can feel like, ‘Hey, let’s commit, let’s do this.’ Because you’re confident the player is going to continue to trend that way, well then, you’re going to save against the cap, right? And cash against the cap. So, that will always be there, it’s just a matter of, obviously, you’ve got to know, 100 percent, that the player is who you think they’re going to be. But that’s – listen, you need to ask (Lions General Manager) Brad (Holmes) that one, alright? That’s out of my league right there, a little bit.”
On if being one of the first teams to sign players like Lions T Penei Sewell and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown to contract extensions was part of the decision to extend them early: “I mean, those guys have earned their money. I mean, that’s three years of top production.”
On where Lions DL Josh Paschal and Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike are mentally and physically and what his vision is for them: “Both of them certainly have improved. Listen, every time we get in this, I hate talking about – I just want to be careful because we’re not in pads, I just want to reiterate that, but Levi is having a really good spring. Paschal is too but Levi – because where he’s come from and all he’s had to deal with, I mean, this guy just has continued to rehab, he’s continued to train his body and work, he’s put on weight because his back can handle it now, we got him through last year to where he’s able to bank some reps and he’s having a really good spring, OK? And so, I like where both of those players are at right now.”
On if any players have surprised him during the offseason: “Surprise? I guess, when I think surprise, it would have to be somebody that you didn’t expect a lot of and is really showing, or just – and so, I can’t think of who that would be, honestly. I feel like guys are where you want them to be. (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike) would be the guy – it’s just good to see, man, he’s put on weight, which we talked about doing, so he’s able to hold that weight and he’s strong, he’s explosive, and he’s just banking good reps right now. But no, I can’t say that I’m – somebody is really like, ‘Man, where did he come from?’ I think the guys that we’ve talked about have –.”
On his impression of how Lions WR Daurice Fountain has done: “Doing a good job. Another young guy who really improved last year. You know, we put a lot of stock in these guys that were on practice squad for us throughout the year and we want to know – and the coaches know this – man, I want to know what does it look like? How has the development gone? Because they’re as a big a piece of this now as your own roster. I put a lot of stock in that. And so, I want to know, ‘Did Fountain really improve?’ And he did, he improved last year. I mean, the looks that he gave our defense, his fundamentals. And so, look, he’s getting a little bit more time with our guys out here. He’s getting some extra time with (Lions QB Jared) Goff and he’s in the mix. I mean, he’s a guy – he knows, I mean we still have a spot open, I mean, we’ve got a couple of spots. We know what (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint is, we know what (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf can bring to the table, we like where (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo is going, but, I mean, there’s still – you go 11-personnel, we’ve got another spot over there.”
On if they are experimenting with Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike and his flexibility on the defensive line: “Yes, but also – I mean we’re doing it with (Lions DL Mekhi) Wingo too. (Lions Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach) Terrell (Williams)’s done a great job and (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG of – man, the more flexibility we have up front, that helps us on gameday. So, even – and I know Wingo’s a young guy but he’s one, Levi’s one – put him outside at the big end on some things. And so, the more we can do with those, they just do, they allow you to bring one less, if you need to, up front because those guys can do multiple jobs.”
On how Lions TE Shane Zylstra is doing after coming back from injury: “Really good. He came back from that injury and has looked really good. Man, he’s moving well, doesn’t really look like he’s lost anything, so he’s doing a good job. It’s good to have him back out there in the mix.”
On what the intensity is like on the field knowing that they are not in pads yet: “Yeah, we’re way back. Certainly we’re – this thing is a good notch or two down than what it would normally be. And so, we’re getting the most that we can out of – it’s really more of the mental. There is initial couple of steps, fundamentals, but yeah, it’s not even close to what we do in pads.”
On if Lions T Dan Skipper is aware that the intensity is down: “Yeah, he is. So is the D-line, everything is levelled down right now. We’re good.”
