Don't be surprised if the Lions never play their starters in the preseason again
The Detroit Lions are through two preseason games. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but they haven't played virtually any their starters at all in either game while most of the league has continued to put their starters out there in at least one game. Are the Lions making a mistake or are they […]
The Detroit Lions are through two preseason games. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but they haven't played virtually any their starters at all in either game while most of the league has continued to put their starters out there in at least one game. Are the Lions making a mistake or are they onto something that could be the future of the NFL preseason?
The Lions are one of the 11 teams that decided to have two joint practices instead of one. The Lions starters got a ton of quality work in both sets of joint practices with the Giants and the Jaguars. So much so, that it makes you wonder why you would need to play your starters in a game later that week. That might be where Lions' Head Coach Dan Campbell's head is at right now.
“Another reason we do these (joint practices) is that I feel like you’ve got two great days of work, banked a lot of reps, and so I don’t see us playing these starters this week. I don't’ see it,” Campbell told Stoney and Jansen on 97.1 The Ticket Thursday morning. “We’re going to sit that core group again, and let some of these young guys go. There may be a few select rookies we don’t play. We’ll see where we’re at there as well. But I think that’s the benefit of having this (joint practice session). We have over 40 reps yesterday.”
The Lions may be on the forefront of something new here. Getting a ton of reps for your starters during the preseason in an environment that you can control.
The Lions and their joint practice partners can run whatever drills they want for as many times as they want and work out all the kinks that they want at their own facility with their own rules. This seems a lot more invaluable than throwing key players onto the field for one or two drives in a meaningless game.
This might be the way the Lions operate from now on. The starters get a lot more out of it and it's a much safer route to go. I wouldn't be shocked if the NFL began to follow suit in the near future. Especially with the number of injuries that keep creeping up during these preseason games.
As for the preseason games and who's going to play in them, it's a really good tool for young players to get used to what it's like to play in an NFL game. That's why some of the starters that you've seen like Jahmyr Gibbs or Jack Campbell have been playing a little bit.
The preseason games are also a good tool for undrafted players, young guys that are trying to show they belong in the league and vets that are trying to show they still belong in the league. They all get an extended period of time on the field and they don't have to share any of it with the guys that are definitely going to make the roster.
The Lions have one more preseason game coming up this week. Don't be surprised if you don't see any starters out there. Don't be surprised if the Lions never play their starters in the preseason again.
Featured image by Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
