Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
I love training camp. Every year I make it a point to attend as much of the open training camp as possible, and post as much information about my observations as I can. I cannot, however, attend OTAs, and thus cannot make observations thereof. Instead, I’m going to make observations on what I feel other people’s observations of OTAs mean. I’m not poking fun at those who are able to report from OTAs. Detroit Lions OTAs are manned by some pretty stellar beat writers in comparison to other teams. So let’s dive right into my somewhat snarky observations of other people’s observations at Detroit Lions OTAs.
Players Absent
So of course we have a few players away. The only rookies that are missing camp so far are Ameer Abdullah and Alex Carter, the Detroit Lions 2nd and 3rd round picks respectively. They each have a good reason for missing OTAs, however, as explained by ESPN’s Mike Rothstein:
Alex Carter might be finishing classes at Stanford. Ameer Abdullah at rookie premier this weekend. Possible absence reasons
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) May 27, 2015
The two rookies have excuses for missing time, and it’s hard to find better ones. Abdullah is at the rookie premiere representing the Lions while Carter is finishing his time at Stanford friggin University. Kudos to both. The rest of the players not present have good reasons as well, but not kudos worthy as they are recovering from injuries.
Joique Bell is still recovering from Achilles and knee surgeries from this offseason. This actually works to the Detroit Lions favor as they’re able to get their other rushers some work with the first team, something Bell doesn’t need to get into playing shape. Starting right tackle LaAdrian Waddle is still recovering from an ACL tear, which sucks since Cornelius Lucas is taking his reps. Lucas has a lot of upside, and flashed at times last season, but most of his work was pretty bad while he participated in the turnstile right tackle rotation. Larry Warford was also resting as Taylor Boggs took his place. I don’t know who he is, either.
Still no word on Bill Bentley and Nevin Lawson. Bentley worked in drills, but not team work, meaning he’s likely closer to back. This may work out in the Detroit Lions favor once again as 6th round pick Quandre Diggs is taking time with the first team at nickel and looking good. Diggs wasn’t the only one looking good at OTAs, however, as we’ll see next…
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