LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 10 QUOTE SHEET
August 4, 2025
Opening Statement: “It’s going to be a good chance to get out as the sun is going down, compete a little bit, short yards, goal line, some backed up and then just let them play. Call it for the coordinators, spot it where it lies and make the call. So, pretty excited about today. This will be great for us.”
On an injury update for Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.: “Yeah, we’re getting it checked now. We’ll know more in due time.”
On how Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. can stay on a positive track despite missed time on the field due to multiple injuries to start his career: “Yeah, I mean, you hate it for the kid, you hate it. It’s not his fault, just one of those tough deals. All you can do is try to get it better and rehab, come back stronger and move on. That’s all you can do.”
On how he knows when someone loses their potency as a running back: “Well, I think you can see it with your eyes, you can see it on tape. I think whether you lose a little bit of the burst or the pop or the cut, I just think your eyes can tell you a lot about that. And then usually, I think what happens is the numbers will back that up, but you don’t look at the numbers first, you look at what they look like on tape.”
On what he expects to see at joint practices and if they will give him a better idea of what the running backs can do in pads with full contact: “Yeah. Look, this is not just them, I mean really all of our guys that may not play in these preseason games. This is their chance to get that type of preseason work but under a more controlled environment, that’s why I like it. So, we’ve got to put this type of intensity on them. But yeah, we’ll be able to tell a ton about the backs, the line, the D-line, the linebackers. Those are the guys that really get stressed. You can get a lot of the work in on the perimeter, the bigs, but the linebackers, the tight ends, the running backs, that’s where they really, really benefit from this type of work.”
On the toughest lesson he hopes the players take away from last season headed into this season: “I’ve kind of said this before, I think it’s more – with every year that your club matures, when you get another year under your belt and you don’t finish the way you wanted to finish, you learn something. And I think you don’t take that for granted, you don’t take those opportunities for granted. There is more of a sense of urgency that just happens organically, I think is what happens. So, you embrace every moment, you make sure that every young guy that comes in, there’s an emphasis on, ‘Man, this is important. We know you just walked in the door, we may need to lean on you, we may need your help. But you’ve got to understand where we’ve been, and what we’ve done, and you’ve got to get up to speed fast because it’s going to take everyone of us and we can’t afford for anybody to have an error that’s going to cost us.’”
On where he sees Lions QB Hendon Hooker’s mentality at this point: “Well, he’s better than he was in the spring as far as getting the plays in, getting them out, running the offense, seeing the coverage, getting the checks, things of that nature. He has been better with that. And so, there’s these things – I told you the other day in the game, he got us to a couple plays that I was like, ‘OK, that’s good to see, that’s growth.’ But yet, there’s still a couple things, communication error here or there, couple of the throws here you want to be more accurate. I think of Hooker as just keep diving into the work, keep getting the reps and he just needs some small victories. He just needs a few wins here just to stack some back-to-back reps, back-to-back days and I think that’s going to do him wonders. Look, he’s working, he grinds at it, he’s very coachable, he certainly has the ability. He’s going to get his opportunity. He’s going to get his opportunity. I already said he’s starting this week and we’re going to give him a load here and see what he can do with it.”
On how satisfied he is with the progression of the starting offense: “Yeah, well I would tell you it’s about where we’ve been. It feels like every camp there’s things that you see that you’re growing at and you like and then there’s things you’re frustrated with, some of the, ‘We jump offsides here or we’re not in the right split here or we fumbled the ball here.’ And those are all things that this time of year, you hate to say it, but they rear their head a little bit and we’ve got to clean all of that stuff up, and we will. We’ve put an emphasis on it, we’ve talked about it, but I like where we’re going, I do. I feel like we get a little bit more in rhythm, we get a little bit better everyday and with another game, that’s only going to help communication, all those things and then we’ll get another game and another game and more practices. So, I like where we’re at.”
On what he has thought of Lions WR Tim Patrick’s performance at camp so far: “Yeah, well I like – look, Tim’s hard on himself too now. Look, he hasn’t been targeted a bunch, that doesn’t help when you’re doing a lot of the dirty work and you really haven’t had that many balls go your way. And you’re a receiver, that kind of makes it a little bit hard. But I would tell you it’s not as bad as he’s portraying it. Tim, we know what Tim is, he’s just a steady, reliable veteran guy, plays big, he’s smart, hard worker and he’s going to put his days back-to-back and he’s going to be just fine.”
On what the relationship is between Lions Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and Offensive Coordinator John Morton and the rivalry they have in camp: “Yeah, I mean, it’s been good. It’s kind of business as usual for us. It’s a competitive environment, everybody wants to win and then let them know when they win. So, it’s pretty good. It’s the right kind of spirit, I don’t think we take it too far, but it’s a great mix because it’s the same thing, it’s no different than the players. The emotions run high, but you’re trying to win, you’re trying to do it the right way and then when you walk off the field, they’re buddies arm-in-arm and jabbing at each other about the way that they argue with the other person. So, it’s good.”
On an injury update and timeline to return for Lions S Dan Jackson: “It doesn’t look good. That’s another one we’re still sending this out to a few more places, but it looks like he’s going to be down for a while.”
On if Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.’s injury is more of a long-term or short-term recovery: “Tough to say. It’s a shoulder. I think it’s going to be a while at best. I think it’s going to be a while.”
On if Lions S Dan Jackson can return from Reserve/Injured this season: “You need me to go get (Lions Chief Operating Officer Mike) Disner or one of these guys to come down here and explain this thing to you? There’s about a million things here that can happen with it, so all I can tell you is he’s on IR right now. I wish I could give you more.”
