For all intents and purposes, with final OTA sessions next week for younger players, 2024 offseason work is over for the Detroit Lions.
There's definitely a sense of "all business" that reporters picked up on, even during OTAs and minicamp without pads on, which is a tentacle of the "unfinished business" moniker players had after the loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship. Before Thursday's final minicamp practice, head coach Dan Campbell said he wants the "whole enchilada."
For a solid chunk of Lions' players, OTAs and this week's minicamp was important. With some veterans seeing limited or no work due to injury recovery, etc., players with more at stake got a chance to work. For some, just getting practice reps before training camp was huge.
Whatever the individual circumstance is, these five Lions are on the rise after minicamp.
5 Detroit Lions players whose stock is on the rise after minicamp
5. PK James Turner
In a broad sense, Michael Badgley is begging to be replaced as the Lions' kicker. The team doesn't seem terribly interested in replacing him, only adding former Michigan kicker Turner as a UDFA. Options may surface now with the UFL season winding down (Jake Bates, Andre Szmyt), but the Lions seem to have a legit kicking competition now-if they will let it happen.
By all accounts, Turner outdid Badgley at minicamp, particularly on longer range field goals. It was unclear if Turner had that in him, as he was simply not asked to kick long field goals that much at Michigan.
Yes, making kicks during OTAs will be far different from the greater intensity preseason games, and even training camp, will bring. But Turner went from cursory competition for Badgley to (potentially) a legit option to be the Lions' kicker this year when the dust settles.