LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET
July 22, 2025
Opening Statement: “Start third down today, third-and-2-to-6, and then guys are off tomorrow so it’ll be our third good day of work. Get them moving around, really. (Lions RB Sione) Vaki will be out today. I think (Lions DL Roy) Lopez is going to be down today as well, so I think those two guys will probably be a few days here. Don’t think they’re major, but we’ll let them see where they shake out.”
On what happened with Lions DL Roy Lopez: “He got stepped on, got stepped on. Kind of stepped and it got twisted. Got stepped on with a cleat and then the cleat twisted on top of his foot, so.”
On where he has seen Lions OL Giovanni Manu make the biggest gains in the past year: “He’s – just in his training. He’s gotten a year now with us, with (Lions Director of Sports Performance) Mike Clark and (Lions Head Strength & Conditioning) Josh Schuler and those guys, so really training his body has been big for him. He’s beginning to transform himself and I would say that’s the biggest improvement. And then certainly there’s things that he’s getting more aware of that he’s learning. And man, he’ll take two steps up and then one step back, and so that’s kind of where he’s at. He’ll have a good day and then there’s a couple of things that’ll slide that we’ve got to keep working on with him. And he knows this. As long as he keeps pushing, he’ll be fine. That’s what he’s got to do is learn from it, listen to what (Lions Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line) Hank (Fraley)’s telling him and (Lions Assistant Offensive Line) Steve (Oliver) and those veterans and work on it, improve and just get better everyday.”
On what injury Lions RB Sione Vaki is dealing with and what he liked about his development throughout the offseason: “Yeah, hamstring. Vaki’s a guy that – that was unfortunate we didn’t have him for the spring. We were really high on him from an offensive standpoint, certainly special teams. He really helped us in special teams and we feel like he could do that again. But offensively, just to see what we could do with him, see if we could expand his role. We feel like just athletically, size-wise, explosiveness, power, there’s versatility in what he could do. He might be able to play multiple roles, multiple positions, so this kind of sets us back. But he’ll be in there rehabbing with (Lions Director of Player Health and Performance Brett Fischer) Fisch, getting it right, getting strength back in it and then we’ll start over again.”
On what type of emotional and football lift it gives him and the team to see Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson back on the field: “Yeah, well it’s good to see – anytime you see one of your guys that you know what he brings to your team, you know what he brings on the field. The production, the energy, the violence, it does give you a little boost, a little lift. For me, it’s just good to see his confidence back in himself, that feels good to see. You can tell he has a lot of faith in where he’s at right now, how it feels, the way he moves, the way he bends, the way he’s coming off the edge and that’s only after two days. So, it’s pretty exciting. It’s pretty exciting. So, it’s good to have him back.”
On what type of injury Lions OL Miles Frazier is dealing with and if there is a timetable for his return: “A knee. Probably, I don’t know, let’s call it September, October. Let’s say something like that. Is that good? Alright.”
On if Lions CB Khalil Dorsey, Lions DL Mekhi Wingo and Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez are close to returning to the field from injury: “I would say Dorsey’s probably the closest of that group. We’re hoping late camp, we could get Dorsey back. He’s doing well. He’s running – his speed is, the speed is there. Now, it’s just about being able to put your foot in the ground, make a transition and all of that. But he is progressing, he’s getting better and better. Rodrigo we’ve already talked about. Just doing good. Doing really good but I think he’s another October guy.”
On when Lions DL Mekhi Wingo is expected to return from injury: “Yeah, Wingo’s probably September.”
On how he goes about bringing Lions OL Tate Ratledge onto the center position when he did not play it in college and what the process looks like: “Yeah, it is. You’re getting it all at once. It’s everything, it is. It’s the mental and it’s the technique of it. So, yeah, look we’re putting a lot on him. He’s drinking out of a fire hose right now. But there are things that we saw with him in college at Georgia that we felt like, ‘You know what? We think this guy can play center.’ We knew it was going to take some time. When that’s something you haven’t done in games, it’s going to take a minute. But he has practiced it and he’s gotten a lot of reps at Georgia playing center against some really good competition out there in the spring and stuff, so. Anyway, so we’re excited. Like I said, we’ll see where it goes. All he’s got to do is keep working. It’s only two days, I like where it’s been versus the spring. It already feels better, it already feels more natural.”
On when the team will start wearing pads: “Oh, I – what is today? Tuesday? Friday. We can’t Thursday.”
On which guys he is eyeing to step up to fill the void of Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike and Lions DL Alim McNeill: “Yeah, I mean, I think really all of those guys. It’s an open, there again, it’s kind of an open competition to see who can give us the most in there. We talked about (Lions DL) Tyleik (Williams), we know (Lions DL DJ) Reader. I’ve already talked about Reader. He can edge and push the pocket. Look, we kind of like (Lions DL Keith) Cooper (Jr.) now, he’s a young guy. Let’s see what he can do. We’ve got (Lions DL) Raequan (Williams), a veteran guy. We’ve got some guys here. And I know we’re – (Lions EDGE Josh) Paschal and (Lions DL) Alim (McNeill) and all that, it’s going to be a minute, but we feel pretty good about those guys obviously. So, we’ll be alright, we’ll find it and if we need to fabricate it, we’ll fabricate it.”
On the value of Lions DL Pat O’Connor as a veteran on the team: “That is the value. I mean, he is, he’s a jack of all trades. As he’s running by me yesterday, he wanted to make sure I knew he could play blocking tight end, so. I’m telling you, kickoff, kickoff return, watch him. He’s a pretty smooth athlete for a big man. Played the nose, played the three, played the big end. He is, he’s versatile, and that’s why he just keeps competing to stay on rosters because it’s hard to ignore a guy like him. He just, he does so many different jobs. You know if you get him into the game, you’re going to be able to use him, I mean there’s no question. But he’s another guy.”
On his reaction to finding out the team was going to be playing in the Hall of Fame game: “That it’s – they want us there and we’ll be there. We’re going to get good work.”
