The Detroit Lions are holding their final OTA practice on Thursday. Here’s what we’re hoping to learn.
On Thursday, the Detroit Lions will hold their sixth and final OTA practice of the year. After Thursday afternoon, the Lions will break until somewhere around mid-July—part of their plans of a shortened spring program after being selected to participate in the extra Hall of Fame preseason game.
Media will be present for Thursday’s practice, and coach Dan Campbell will speak before they take the field, as he did last Friday.
Obviously, there will be a lot of Frank Ragnow discussion. The Lions have yet to formally acknowledge the retirement of their center, but it’s safe to say Campbell will talk about it and likely be asked several questions about it.
Additionally, it will be our last opportunity to see players perform before training camp. So today’s Question of the Day is:
What do you want to learn from the final day of Lions OTAs?
My answer: Obviously, I would like to know when the Lions knew about Ragnow’s retirement. Signs certainly point to Detroit preparing for this situation potentially as early as the draft, but it would be nice to get more clarity from Campbell himself to see which roster moves were made with Ragnow’s departure in mind. Was the plan always to cross-train Tate Ratledge, or was that a response to them learning about Ragnow after they drafted him?
On the field, I’m hoping (but not expecting) some of the injured players to return to the field, particularly on defense. Some sort of clarity on the defensive line would be nice, but we aren’t going to get any until guys like Josh Paschal, Levi Onwuzurike, DJ Reader, and Tyleik Williams are getting regular snaps during team drills.
What are you hoping to learn on Thursday about the team?