HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 2 QUOTE SHEET
July 21, 2025
On Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.’s injury he suffered day one of camp: “Should be OK, everything came back negative. Certainly, he’s sore. He’ll be out a few days here, just to let him recover. Structurally, everything looks pretty good.”
On his process of figuring out offensive line rotations: “I think these first, call it 10 days, are going to tell us a lot. By the time we get to the Hall of Fame game, and at least in one area of that, and then we have to make a decision there. And then the competition is still open at that point. Working these guards and who is playing center, but I think it’s kind of a two-part deal. We have an open competition, guys competing. Certainly (Lions OL) Tate (Ratledge at center, we’re working him in there, see how fast he can get it. I know it’s only day one, look, much better than even spring. Getting his feet under him, but as I said before, we know (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) can slide right in right now and we don’t miss a beat. We’re just going to keep playing with it. It’s kind of exciting really, just to see these guys grow and watch them develop and compete. It’s pretty good. It’s a good group. (Lions Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line) Hank (Fraley)’s going to do a great job, always does.”
On Lions OL Graham Glasgow’s versatility: “He is big. The thing about Graham, he’s dependable. He’s a savvy vet, he’s played a lot of football, he understands angles, he’s smart, he knows the game. And then he’ll help those guys. I think the hardest thing for Graham right now is not to do too much as far as – we’re trying to make sure that, hey, let (Lions OL) Tate (Ratledge) do it, like right now, let him go. It’s good. Like I said before, Graham gives you some comfort because we know what he can do, and he can play multiple roles.”
On Lions C Kinglsey Eguakun: “A lot of scout team reps. Man, him, on Sunday, just watching him get better and better and better. The way he competes, man, he’s tough, he’s physical. He is smart, really good athlete, man he can move. And he knows this, so much about him is going to be the anchor. We put pads on, the size, and those things. Just being able to sit some guys down, anchor, things of that nature. I like Kingsley, he’s improved. He’s improved a lot.”
On Lions RB David Montgomery calling this season the ‘year of the reckoning’ and if the players have a sense of frustration getting so close the past two years: “Look, this is one of the things I talked about in the meeting the other day. I think if we keep that type of mindset, man we’re after it. It’s another year, and we’re out to finish what we started. We’re going to close out some of these debts. That has to be the attitude, that’s the mindset across the board. Every day In practice, no matter who we play, no mater what people think – man, we’re going. I just think it’s a mindset, that’s all.”
On Lions RB David Montgomery saying he is sometimes a forgotten man and on Montgomery’s importance to the team: “Believe me, he is not forgotten. We know exactly who he is, where he is, and what he’s capable of. And the one-two punch with him and (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs is special, and it’s rare in this League, in my opinion especially nowadays. There is a place for David, he’s going to help us, and we’re going to use him, and we’ll use him and Gibbs together. We’ll do some of those things. We know he’s one of our best offensive players, that’s not changing right now.”
On the timeline of Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike’s injuries: “Yeah, I would say this is something that crept up. Once the season’s done, it’s kind of the normal aches and pains, things that go on after a season. Levi’s been through a lot. Probably, call it a month after he signed, a month and a half, somewhere in there, knee’s bothering him. We keep working through it and it’s not getting any better. Just needed to get this done. We hate it for Levi, man. It’s not his fault, and it’s just one of those things. I can tell you what, his mindset is right. He’s all about getting it right and proving himself. It’s not easy when you have to rehab year after year after year.”
On if Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike would be back for the playoffs: “No.”
On what he has learned from running training camps and whether he adjusts camp to injuries: “Yeah, I’m with you, but you’ve got to be careful. I know what that is. I’ve got a little thing on my board, ‘You can’t let anything sway your identity or what you want to become. You can’t let the fear of injury change the way you prepare.’ Doesn’t mean you’re not being smart, you’re not reading the data – is there something we need to (change)? So no, I’m not changing much. We’re going to do things very much like we’ve done for the last four years because it’s led to success for us and we play a certain style of football and we’ve got to keep that. It’s not easy to do, but you have to do that.”
On whether he has kept in contact with former Lions QB Teddy Bridgewater and what he is looking to see from Lions QB Hendon Hooker: “Teddy and I, we talk all the time – I mean, not all the time, but we communicate back and forth. I’ve known Teddy a long time, so yeah. That’s on a personal level. He’s somebody I’ve got a lot of respect for and so just as a human being I’m going to talk to Teddy. If that’s OK with you? Alright. As far as Hooker, look Hooker knows the deal. You’re out here to compete. We gave him some things to do while he was home – talking about working on a little bit of the urgency, the footwork, certainly continue training. And look, it’s only one day, but I liked what I saw out there yesterday – there was some urgency, I thought his footwork was on, I thought he was spitting the plays out. But there again, that’s day one, but he knows what it is. He knows it’s time to take the next step, and so it’s his move. I think he’s wired right and it means something to him, and so here we go man, open camp.”
On what he has seen from Lions EDGE Ahmed Hassanein: “He’s a guy that it means something to. He’s got a lot of intensity to him, he wants to learn, he’s an open book right now, he wants to know it all, he’s like a sponge. He’s taking it all in, and tries to do exactly what you tell him to do and he’s high motor. He goes all out, it doesn’t matter what the drill is. And so I think the trick there is in walkthroughs, backing him down just a tick but I like him, we like him. I mean, he’s wired right. It’s one of the reasons we drafted him. There’s something to work with here, we’ll see how fast he can develop.”
On what Lions LB Zach Cunningham can bring to the roster and what he needs to do to make the 53-man roster: “He knows he’s got a great opportunity. I mean, this is, ‘Whatever you can do here man, it’s up to you – whether you can help us on defense or even special teams.’ He’s out there working with us on punt team and he’ll be on all these units too. He’s played football, he’s played in this League, he’s a very good athlete, he’s pretty instinctive, smart guy, so he’s fluid. Man, sometimes it’s effortless, he’s a fluid mover. We do so much stuff in the pass game because it’s really all you can do in the spring, but some of his cover skills, cover ability, watching him match – couple of routes he had on (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta that he did a pretty good job of in the spring. So there’s an element that he bring, an athletic element that we like. We’re intrigued. We’re intrigued and he knows this is a great opportunity for him, so we’ll see.”
On how much the four-down offense and running tempo plays into training camp practices: “Well, I think you always want to have a little tempo in there. We don’t have a ton right now, that’s why I was asking. We try to push the tempo in and out of the huddle then getting into the next play, things like that, but I think any good offense wants to change up the way they do things, change their tempo. I think the nature of the way that we go about what we call, how we call it, when we call it and the tempo, yeah, four downs can play into that but that’s not always the case, you’re just always trying to put stress on each other. So much about camp is trying to test each other. You’re trying to find the holes in your defense and they’re trying to exploit you offensively, vice versa – special teams will do the same thing – because the more we can do that everyday, the better we get the next day. You’ve got to solve problems, you’ve got to solve them fast, and so it’s actually a good thing. It looks awful out there when it happens to one of the units, but it’s like one of the best things that can happen because now you’ve got to fix it so that by the time you get to the season, you’ve fixed 20 of these things on both sides of the ball.”
On how valuable it is to have a veteran presence in Lions DL DJ Reader: “Yes. He’s a sight for sore eyes. He’s a big man. Had a good year coming off of that quad and he looks good, he’s in shape and he does, man, he just brings you – there is comfort to what he is and what he’s able to do for us. He is, he’s a steady force and he can play the nose, he can play the three, he gives you flexibility. There was a couple of reps just yesterday, watching him take on a couple of these double teams and hold the line, hold the point, make a play, free up the back. He does a lot of that dirty work that can go unseen, and yes, thank God we got him.”
On if he sees Lions LB Alex Anzalone practicing today: “I don’t see him practicing today, I don’t. It’s a hamstring, so we’ll see where it goes. I don’t see (Lions EDGE Al-Quadin) Muhammad. We may try to get him moving today, we’ll see how he feels. I think (Lions LB Anthony Pittman) Pitt will be back and then (Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.) Rake we already talked about.”
