Dan Campbell is true to his word in assembling the Lions roster

Dan Campbell seems to be continually calling his shot

In the midst of the roster moves this week, including the much-anticipated release of linebacker Jahlani Tavai and the surprise trade for receiver Trinity Benson from Denver, Dan Campbell was completely true to his word.

Campbell told us that there were players that were expected to make the roster and wouldn’t. He didn’t allow contracts, names, or time spent in Honolulu Blue and Silver to influence his decisions.

The players that produced the best and projected to possibly have a future in the league made the roster. Those that fell short were shown the door.

Going right back to when Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell first arrived in Detroit, they said that they would be making decisions based on what is best for the Lions in two years. In other words, building for the future and once they have built that contender, to continually tinker with to create a consistent contender.

Now the truth is that they haven’t built a Super Bowl contender yet and just building a foundation this season will be a big first step. But it is clear that Dan Campbell has no interest in giving the standard coach speak and isn’t afraid of telling the media and fans just what they will do and then doing it.

Almost like Campbell is continually calling his own shot.

The trade for Benson goes with the youth movement theme that Campbell has established with his roster selections and it hasn’t ended there. With this being the opening stage of the Lions rebuild, they have more leeway than an established roster to take some chances and bring in a variety of players to try out.

With that being said, having a roster filled with young players that are building for tomorrow does create concern for today. Most of the experts are expecting the Lions to finish in the NFC North cellar and challenge the Houston Texans for the number one overall pick next April.

Considering the youth movement, that makes the idea of a difficult season a little more realistic. However, the fact that Dan Campbell will concede nothing on game day even with a team being built for tomorrow, he has a chance to build a complete culture change even in what might very well be a lost year. And the whole time he will be doing it while being true to his word.

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