Campbell Made the Call That Every Other Coach Was Too Scared to Make
The Detroit Lions were the only NFL team to skip rookie minicamp this year. All 31 other teams did it. The Lions said no thanks.
Dan Campbell’s reasoning? Simple. Brutal. And absolutely correct.
“They’re not ready, they’re not ready for football, not really, even on a limited basis,” Campbell said Friday. “You get them acclimated, you get them on the field, at least it’s your kind of first chance to do those things, and you can bring in some other guys, some veteran guys, some tryout guys and you may find somebody you like, so you get a little bit of that, but it’s not worth it anymore.”
The Straw That Broke Campbell’s Back
Campbell got specific about what pushed him over the edge. Last year during the first walkthrough, “we had guys all over the ground so the league didn’t take too kindly to that and it’s not worth it. It’s just not worth it.”
So instead of putting rookies through three days of stumbling around Allen Park, Campbell decided to wait. “Let’s get them ready, let’s physically get them ready to they can get with the rest of the guys and look like football players a little bit.”
You know what? He’s right. What’s the point of watching rookies trip over their own feet for three days when you could just bring them in with the veterans and actually teach them something?
This Is Different Detroit
This offseason has been unlike any other in recent memory. No joint practices. Brad Holmes skipping league meetings. And now this.
The Lions are doing things their way, not the NFL’s way. When you’ve built what Holmes and Campbell have built, you earn that right.
Sure, they might miss out on some undrafted free agents who could have impressed during tryouts. But those guys weren’t changing the trajectory of this franchise anyway. Campbell can evaluate talent at mandatory minicamp in June if he wants.
The bigger question is what they’ll cut next. When you’re confident enough in your process to be the only team in the league doing something differently, that’s not arrogance. That’s earned swagger.
Is this the smartest coaching decision Campbell has made or are we overthinking three meaningless practice days? Let me know what you think below.
