In Thursday night’s Hall of Fame preseason game, the Detroit Lions have several players to watch.
Happy game day!
The Detroit Lions play football on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game against the Los Angeles Chargers . While the game result is completely meaningless, I never like referring to the game itself as meaningless. To the players involved, it can be critical to their entire careers. Dreams can be made or dashed on the preseason field.
And the first preseason game is always a little special. While the Lions are not expected to play any starters , it is still our first look at the 2025 team. And with the way an NFL season typically goes, a handful of players we see on the field in Canton, Ohio are likely to play some meaningful snaps for the Lions once the regular season begins.
So with that in mind, today’s Question of the Day is:
Which Lions player are you most excited to see in the Hall of Fame Game?
My answer: It’s between two players—and oddly two players who have been lined up opposite each other for much of training camp: Giovanni Manu and Ahmed Hassanein.
For Manu, it’s an opportunity to show the Year 2 growth the Lions have been hoping to see. Thus far in training camp, he’s been noticeably better than last year, when he was drinking from the firehose. But, in all honesty, I was hoping he’d look beyond what I’ve seen so far. There are still a lot of mistakes, both mental and physical. At this point, I don’t think he’s a realistic option for the backup tackle job.
However, there have only been a handful of padded practices, and there is still a month of on-field work before the start of the season. Game reps are the best resource for development, and I think it’s entirely possible the Lions play Manu for the entirety of some of these games to speed up that development. Growth over the next month is not only possible, but it’s probable with the amount I expect him to play.
As for Hassanein, he’s had the kind of camp you’d expect from a player who is relatively new to the game, but plays with his hair on fire. There are flashes of really exciting play mixed in with a lot of mental errors. In order for Hassanein to impress coach Dan Campbell, he needs to make sure he’s playing within the confines of the defense.
“If you’re going to go make your plays and I’m going to go get all these sacks and you’re rushing high and behind the quarterback, I don’t even see it. It’s not even worth talking about anymore. It’s not worth it.” coach Dan Campbell said this week. “But if you do what you’re asked to do and what (DL coach) Kacy (Rodgers) is teaching you to do and (DC Kelvin Sheppard) Shep, and you set it up and you push the quarterback and you’re even with him and you crush it or you make a move there, great.”
Which Lions players are you eager to see on Thursday night? Scroll down to the comment section and let us know!