Some standouts from Detroit Lions’ Monday practice include Tyleik Williams, Marcus Davenport, and Isaac TeSlaa.
The Detroit Lions held their first night practice on Day 10 of 2025 training camp in an effort to shake things up a bit and get the players accustomed to a changing schedule.
Participation report
Ahead of practice, coach Dan Campbell updated the media on Ennis Rakestraw and Dan Jackson, who were both injured in Sunday’s practice. Rakestraw is still being evaluated, but Jackson was unfortunately placed on injured reserve .
Additionally, Terrion Arnold and Dan Skipper continue to miss practice, while Kenny Yeboah returned, all as expected. Brodric Martin was a surprise absence, and we did not receive an update from the team on his status.
With short yardage and goal line drills on the docket, we saw a very physical practice, and as a result, we saw a handful of players banged up, with three players needing to leave the field early. According to the team, Pat O’Connor is being evaluated for a leg injury, Dominic Lovett is being evaluated for an abdominal injury, and Jamarco Jones is being evaluated for an ankle injury.
Tyliek Williams is showing out in run defense
Erik – While Lions first-round pick Tyleik Williams is still developing his pass rushing skills (he lost his only one-on-one rep to Tate Ratledge), his run defense is showing up more and more in camp every day.
In third-and-short drills, Williams showed terrific strength and lateral movement by pushing the pocket against the first team offensive line and contributing to a stop on David Montgomery. In 11-on-11s, Williams again caught Montgomery in the hole and stopped him for a minimal or no gain. Then, in the second set of 11s, Williams made clean stops against Montgomery, limiting him to gains of just two and four yards.
It can be very difficult to identify who is making plays in the trenches while watching practice from field level, yet it was very easy to see Williams stand out on multiple plays, which illustrates how good a day he truly had.
Isaac TeSlaa makes block of the day
Jeremy – While TeSlaa struggled during 1-on-1s against a physical Avonte Maddox, TeSlaa shined with a heads-up play during team drills.
A play-action pass from Hendon Hooker to Tom Kennedy found the veteran receiver with a lot of room in front of him. Kennedy also had TeSlaa as essentially a lead blocker, and the rookie receiver went head-hunting. He absolutely crushed cornerback Nick Whiteside, springing Kennedy for the easy score. The block was so head-turning that TeSlaa was getting most of the celebrations with his teammate, not Kennedy—who scored.
During the most recent “Inside the Den” episode, we saw clips of TeSlaa turning and finding people to block during the Senior Bowl . Safe to say that aggressive mentality is still around.
Lions’ OT depth is being tested
Erik – The Lions have had a string of poor luck with injuries at offensive tackle, and the woes continued on Monday night.
Starting left tackle Taylor Decker started the season on PUP, and while he has returned to practice, he is still not participating in team drills. So far through camp, the Lions have turned to Dan Skipper to play opposite Penei Sewell, but Skipper was injured in the Lions’ preseason game and has been unable to practice (he’s expected to miss about a week).
In the practices since the game, the Lions have next turned to Jamarco Jones to fill in at left tackle with the starters, but he was injured and forced from practice on Monday. That meant the Lions needed to turn to Giovanni Manu to step up, but he struggled with the jump in competition.
The fallout from these injuries resulted in the Lions leaning on Justin Herron to take over at second- and third-team left tackle, with UDFA rookie Mason Miller taking over at right tackle on the second- and third-team. When Herron briefly exited with an apparent injury, the Lions moved Miller to left tackle and asked Colby Sorsdal to shift outside to right tackle for a stint. Fortunately, Herron was able to return and allow Sorsdal to shift back inside to guard.
With Sewell, Decker, and Skipper all expected to miss the Lions game in Atlanta, their depth at tackle heavily depends on the health of Jones and Herron. As of right now, the only fully healthy offensive tackles expected to play against the Falcons are Manu and Miller. That means, if either Jones or Herron are unable to play, the Lions will likely need to ask Sordal to step outside to fill the void.
Marcus Davenport still showing up strong
Jeremy – Granted, Davenport was up against developmental tackle Giovanni Manu for most of practice after Jamarco Jones suffered an early ankle injury, but the veteran defensive end had one of his best practices to date. I had him with at least two sacks during team drills and another pressure that forced a throwaway from Jared Goff.
Davenport also won in several ways. On one rep, he just bullrushed through Manu. On another, he beat him inside before the young offensive tackle could catch him.
Sione Vaki looking strong in return from injury
Erik – The Lions like to rotate two running backs through each of their offensive units, using Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs with the first team, followed by Craig Reynold and Sione Vaki with the second team.
Vaki injured his hamstring on Day 2 of training camp and was only able to return on Day 9. After practice, he told Pride of Detroit that the team was just taking precautions with him, and while it was hard watching his teammates play in the Hall-of-Fame game, he expects to be a full go in Atlanta and is excited for the opportunity to show how he has progressed.
The improvements are noticeable. He appears very comfortable with the playbook and scheme, and is being used in a lot more situations than we’ve seen previously. His cuts are sharper and his power is impressive.
In third-and-short drills, Vaki ran straight forward on a dive play and dug deep to power to the first down. In 11-on-11s, we saw more successful power dive plays, sweeping run plays, multiple of which picked up first downs. Vaki did fumble on a dive play, but he never let the ball get too far away and recovered the ball immediately.
Look for Vaki to get a lot of opportunities in the Lions’ next preseason game, and could even potentially start if the Lions opt to rest Reynolds.
A rare Jared Goff interception
Jeremy – While the defense has been steadily ahead of the offense for most of camp, they still haven’t been able to pick off Jared Goff very often. During team drills, Goff may have thrown just a single interception through nine practices. But on Monday, the defense was finally able to force a turnover from the quarterback.
Goff initially had to escape pressure to his left and nimbly found some extra room. With the extra time, he directed Sam LaPorta to continue his crossing route across the field. At first, it looked like LaPorta was open, but after Goff tried to rifle the ball in, safety Kerby Joseph closed in from the safety spot, having read Goff the entire way.
Joseph arrived at the exact right time to disrupt the pass, and the ball bounced high into the air. That gave linebacker Alex Anzalone the time to get under it for the pick, and the end of the offensive drive.
It’s worth noting that Goff was intercepted again on the final play of practice, but that was essentially a desperation heave during an end-of-game scenario. Goff tried to find Jameson Williams from 29 yards out, but the two weren’t on the same page, and Amik Robertson made an impressive, uncontested over-the-shoulder catch.