Lions head coach Dan Campbell said what he had to say about Michael Brockers

After Michael Brockers was a healthy scratch last Sunday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the only things he can say about the veteran defensive tackle.

For some reason, after acquiring him from the Los Angeles Rams in March of 2021, the Detroit Lions gave defensive tackle Michael Brockers a new contract with new guarantees. The idea was he’d be a veteran leader for a very young team, and a force on the interior defensive line.

Through 21 games for the Lions, Brockers has delivered one sack, two quarterback hits and four tackles for loss. He played less than 20 snaps in Week 3 and Week 5 this year, then he was a healthy scratch for Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys.

If Brockers is not playing, and it’s hard to argue he should play much moving forward as the Lions’ defense shows signs of improvement and the defensive line gets healthier, his value to the team is next to nil. Veteran leadership intangibles are not enough.

During his Monday press conference, head coach Dan Campbell refuted the idea Brockers has permanently lost his place on the Lions’ depth chart. Or the roster.

Dan Campbell says only things he can say about Michael Brockers

Via Lions Wire:

"(Brockers) provides a tremendous amount of leadership to us, and he’s helped that room in multiple areas, and so there again, just from where we’re at right now, we felt like once we got Cominsky and Paschal back with where it is, that was the right lineup for us,” “But just like last week, when we talked and communicated it with him, he’s like, ‘Look, I’m all in.’ He’s practicing, he’s, ‘You need me, you need me. In the meantime, I’m going to continue to help these young guys get better.’ He’s a pro’s pro, man.”"

Campbell said it all by immediately leaning to Brockers’ leadership qualities. He is the only Lion who’s over 30 years old, so that feels natural and he’s surely a respected veteran in the locker room. For his part Brockers is of course acting like a professional, and frankly a grown-up, not that Campbell would say so publicly if he was at all disgruntled.

Getting down to it, Brockers is a prideful veteran who probably hasn’t been done any favors playing on a mostly very bad Lions’ defense the last two years. If a contending team wants him before the trade deadline, it’s safe to say he’ll be gone. It’s also possible he’s done a favor and released at some point.