Lions Fans Are Losing Their Minds Over Nothing
Dan Campbell announced that Kerby Joseph, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch were in the building but wouldn’t be practicing during OTAs. Cue the panic. Cue the immediate spiral into worst-case scenarios. Cue Lions fans doing what Lions fans do best: assuming the absolute worst possible outcome from the most innocent possible news.
Look, I get it. We’ve been hurt before. Hell, we’ve been hurt so many times that our default setting is catastrophic thinking. But this time, you’re freaking out over absolutely nothing.
What OTAs Actually Are (Spoiler Alert: Not Much)
Organized Team Activities are basically football in pajamas. They’re voluntary. They’re low intensity. There’s no contact, no tackling, no blocking, no pass rushing. Players run routes at half speed while coaches install plays and everyone pretends this matters more than it does.
Campbell called it exactly what it is: a pajama party. He refused to hype anyone during this time period because there’s literally nothing to hype. These guys are jogging around, running drills, and sitting in meetings. That’s it.
Campbell put it perfectly: “That’s not the priority, and it’s not worth all that anyway. The most important thing is continue to let them improve, rehab, all that, that’ll take precedence, right now. So they’re in meetings, you know, they’re getting the mental side of this, and just take it day to day.”
When You Should Actually Worry
Training camp starts in late July. That’s when things get real. If Joseph, LaPorta, and Branch are still sitting out then, or if they start camp on the PUP list, then sure, we can revisit the panic button.
But right now? You’re losing sleep over guys missing glorified walkthroughs. The mandatory minicamp is slightly more serious, but even that’s just a week. None of this matters until the pads come on and the real work begins.
These three players are getting the mental side of the game while they heal up from whatever minor issues are keeping them out of practice. They’re in meetings. They’re learning the system. They’re doing everything that actually matters during this pajama party phase of the offseason.
Save your energy for something that actually deserves it. Like wondering if our offensive line can keep Jared Goff upright for a full season. You know, the stuff that actually matters.
Are you ready to admit you overreacted, or are you doubling down on the doom spiral? Let me know in the comments below.
This is exactly the kind of perspective we need right now. Campbell and Holmes have built something real here and they know what they’re doing with player management. These guys sitting out OTAs while they recover shows they actually care about the long game, not just looking tough for the media.
I hear you on the OTA thing not being a big deal, but I’ve been burned enough times that I can’t help myself from worrying. That said, Campbell’s been straight with us and I trust his judgment way more than any coach we’ve had in forever, so I guess I’ll pump the brakes on the panic for now.
You know what’s wild? We used to have front offices that couldn’t even communicate this stuff clearly. The fact that Campbell can just be honest and say ‘this is glorified pajama practice’ and we can all move on is actually progress for this organization. That’s what a real regime looks like.
The O-line thing you mentioned at the end is what keeps me up at night honestly, not three guys missing some jogging drills in May. That’s the real test for how good we can actually be this year.