LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 11 QUOTE SHEET
August 6, 2025
On whether or not Lions DL Tyleik Williams and Lions OL Tate Ratledge will play in the preseason game against Atlanta: “Yeah, I’m thinking about that. I would like to get them going this game, but I’m not 100 percent set on that yet.”
On what his timeline is for deciding which guys are playing and in which rotations for preseason games: “I think that that’s – kind of last night we talked about it a little bit and you have an idea. Really today, whoever is playing is not going to get enough reps to really – they’ll have plenty of juice to play in this game at Atlanta so you can kind of play anybody you need to.”
On if there is value for Lions OL Tate Ratledge to play in the preseason game with the linemen that he will be starting next to: “Yeah, I’m going to tell (Lions T Taylor) Decker, ‘Hey, we’re playing Tate, so I need you in there Decker.’ No. No.”
On what he envisions the offensive line looking like and how Lions OL Christian Mahogany fits into that vision: “Well, look, I think that our O-line has got to be able to move the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to move the line of scrimmage and we’ve got to be able to anchor in the middle. That’s what we’ve done a good job of here, we’re able to run multiple schemes, we ask a lot of those guys. But with that, we also know – look, I’ve got to keep telling myself too Mahogany for example, he’s a young player, he didn’t go through preseason last year. He got two games, that’s good, but it’s not like he’s going on year five. He’s a young player that just needs reps and with every rep he gets better and better and better. And there’s also going to be some things that happen, there’s growing pains that comes with that, so the more reps we can get and we reach those standards, the better off we’re going to be. It all starts at the front for us, everything does.”
On if Lions OL Christian Mahogany possesses the traits such as tenacity, mindset and finish: “He’s got all of that. He’s got every bit of that. He’s like most young players, he just needs experience and that comes with time and reps, over and over and over. But he’s improving.”
On how he balances excitement about the defense or concern about the offense and how he can tell where the two units are at based on them facing each other every day: “Yeah, I mean, it’s a good barometer to try to figure out exactly where you’re at and I think you take it for what it is. I do believe our defense is – we’re playing pretty good right now, we’re practicing well, we’re running pretty efficient, (Lions Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) Shep’s doing a nice job over there. We’re pretty versatile in coverage and pressure, we’ve got the front to handle the run right now and then we’re pretty sticky on the backend, that’s a good combination. We can crush the pocket. That’s versus our offense. I do see that. Now, there’s things we’ve got to improve over there too, I mean we’ve got some things that pop up every day. So I think they’re a handful right now and then offensively, certainly we want to be clicking a little bit better, but I also know we’re like this far away. Every practice you come out, it was even the other day, it’s like, we hold up a half second longer and this is a 30-yard touchdown. Bad footwork on one play, (Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs) Gibby spits out of there, instead of five, we’re about to get 60 for a touchdown. So, we’re literally that close and it’s just that’s how it works with offense, especially early, it’s one guy here, one guy here, one guy here and it’s just the little minute details. They’re all correctable, that’s what’s awesome. So, we’re growing, we’re getting better, I love the fact that we’re being challenged on both sides, we really are. I feel like we’re challenging each other.”
On what he has seen from Lions Linebackers Coach Shaun Dion Hamilton that makes him think he has a future as a coach in the League: “Yeah, he’s done an unbelievable job. One of the reasons we got him into coaching, asked him to stay was he was such a smart player, he was such a headsy player. He was a high-level thinker as a player, so to be able to – and, look, he wasn’t the most gifted. When you’re not the most gifted, then you usually have to do every little thing right, you have to know every little detail and you probably know how to coach every little detail too. So, that was him and he is, he’s a stickler for the details, he expects a lot out of those guys, he wants them to play downhill and aggressive, he’s a hard worker and he’s just grown a ton under (Lions Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) Shep in that room and (former Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG. So, he’s going to do a great job for us.”
On how much of the offense versus defense performance discrepancy in camp has been a trickle-down effect from Lions T Taylor Decker being out with an injury: “Well, look, I mean does Decker make us better? Yes. I mean, yes. He’s a good player. But it’s also, as with any of that stuff, you’ve still got to be able to move the ball if you don’t have one of those guys or two of them or three of them or whatever the case may be. So, you tinker with some stuff, you try to make it work, you keep a few more guys in on protection than maybe you ordinarily would, but that’s a part of the task of moving the football against your defense in practice. And it’s not a full-scale game plan against yourself, you’re trying to get some of your plays going, run some of your stuff, but yet, if you can’t block (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch and he’s going to blow every practice up, then that’s not good either. But, listen, we’re good, it’s all a part of the process, we’re working through it and letting guys grow and get reps.”
On where he has seen Lions DL Tyleik Williams grow the most since the beginning of camp: “Yeah, well he’s – what we saw on his college tape is really showing up here and that’s his ability to play, to really get knocked back into the backfield, kind of recreate the line of scrimmage. He’s got a good shock and shed, sometimes a little too good, he’ll jump out of a gap if you’re not careful so we’re trying to just stay on him with that. And then he can get an edge, his rush, he can get an edge. He’s trending the right way, he’s growing, we’ve just got to get him in better shape and that’ll come with reps. We’re going to give those guys today a ton of reps out there. We’re going to work two-minute drill, that’ll be good for everybody really, they all need it.”
On what it is like to work with a roster that is pretty set at the top of the depth chart: “Yeah, I would answer it like this, I thank the Lord that we’ve got players that love ball and they work their tail off and give us everything they’ve got, and most of them have the ability to make some plays for us. That’s what I love, so these dudes lay it on the line and they play for one another and I’m fired up that we got them.”
On an injury update for Lions WR Dominic Lovett, Lions DL Pat O’Connor and Lions T Jamarco Jones: “Yeah, they’re all – I mean, it’ll be whatever, I don’t know, a week on a couple of guys. Lovett may be 10 days, but they’re good. I mean it’s just going to take a minute.”
