Detroit Lions Day 1 OTA highlights, photos: 5 observations

Five observations from Day 1 of Detroit Lions OTAs, based on team highlights and photos.

On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions took the field for their first of six Organized Team Activity (OTAs) practices over the next two weeks. With media not yet present for Lions practices, all we can gather about the session is from what the Lions themselves offered via highlights and a photo gallery. You can access the photo gallery here . The highlights are below:

Because we’re starved for Lions content (both from a content producer and consumer standpoint), here’s everything notable I noticed:

Aidan Hutchinson is back

As he promised last week, Hutchinson was medically cleared from his broken leg and allowed to participate in practices. He was clearly the focus of the cameras, as we saw him come on the field and participate in some positional drills. We do not, however, see him do any team drills. That doesn’t mean he didn’t participate in any, but it’s worth pointing out. He may still be limited.

Rock Ya-Sin appears to have nabbed an interception

At the 26-second mark, we see No. 23 (Rock Ya-Sin) with the ball already in his hands and running in the other direction while the offense is chasing him. The pass appears to have been intended for Jameson Williams (now wearing No. 1). It’s hard to tell who the quarterback was, but there is a brief shot of Kyle Allen with his hands in the air.

Kyle Allen getting reps with starters?

If Allen was indeed the culprit in the interception, that means he was throwing with Williams out here. Allen is later seen throwing a nice pass to Sam LaPorta for a toe-tapping reception along the sidelines. Could he be getting early reps? Both Jared Goff and Hendon Hooker were present, as evidenced by the final photo in Wednesday’s gallery. Obviously, Allen isn’t in play for the starting job, but could he possibly start OTAs as QB2? Will he and Hooker split days as QB2, as the Lions have done in previous years? It’s too early to jump to conclusions, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Isaac TeSlaa sidelined?

A well-timed freeze frame of the highlight reel shows a few players who were at practice but clearly not participating. It’s hard to identify most of them, but one looks to be Lions third-round rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa (in the shorts)

TeSlaa did not appear anywhere else in the highlights nor the photo gallery. He participated in the first day of rookie minicamp a few weeks back, so it’s unclear if this is injury-related or not.

Still no sign of 3 players

No reason for panic at this point, but there have been three players who have been noticeably absent from offseason workout photos all year: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alex Anzalone, and Frank Ragnow.

For St. Brown, we know he’s been in the facility, as TeSlaa previously mentioned passing him in the hallways. The Lions All-Pro receiver skipped the Pro Bowl due to an undisclosed injury, so he may be dealing with something. For Anzalone, he has regularly skipped out on OTAs, so his potential absence is not particularly surprising. Less is known about Ragnow at this moment.

Hopefully, we’ll get some clarity when Dan Campbell is expected to meet with the media later this week.