As teams around the NFL hold their mandatory minicamps this week, the Detroit Lions have other plans.
Mandatory minicamp is the first non-voluntary activity of the offseason program for teams around the NFL, and it’s the last activity ahead of training camp next month.
However, the Lions are taking a much different approach than their league mates, as the team has decided not to hold a mandatory minicamp this year.
The reason behind the decision is that the Lions will be playing in the Hall of Fame game against the Los Angeles Chargers this year, which will lead to Detroit opening its training camp earlier than the rest of the NFL.
“To me, it was like, look, we’re going to cut this three days short, so you come in three days early,” Campbell explained, per Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network. “That’s how we’re handling it.”
“It just means we’ve got to be on it in training camp,” Campbell added. “We’ve got to get a lot of guys ready to play quickly for the Hall of Fame game, and make sure their bodies are ready to go for an early game, because there are going to be a lot of young guys that play a number of reps in that game. But we’ll get them right.”
The Lions have been conservative with their players during the voluntary portion of the offseason program, with the team having had several players either limited or out of practice as they work their way back from injuries.
This comes on the heels of the Lions sporting one of the most banged-up rosters in the league in 2024, an issue that helped derail Detroit’s season.
One thing no mandatory minicamp will rob us of is an update on the status of Alex Anzalone, the Lions’ veteran linebacker who hasn’t been in attendance at the voluntary portion of the offseason program.
The belief is that Anzalone is absent over his desire for a contract extension after he posted some cryptic tweets hinting at his desire for one. However, Anzalone wasn’t required to be at OTAs, so his holdout isn’t actually official yet.
Barring the two sides agreeing to a deal, we should get an update on Anzalone’s status once training camp begins next month.
