The first practice of 2023 Detroit Lions training camp is on Sunday, so it's officially football season. There will be interesting position battles to watch, some of which were made more interesting by some moves that were made over the past few days.
As is customary, head coach Dan Campbell had a press conference to officially open training camp on Sunday morning. He touched on a lot of topics, including the acquisition of Denzel Mims and the remainder of the kicker battle after Michael Badgley was released. He eventually got to who will practice on Day 1 or camp, or who won't.
An expected decision about a notable injured player, with rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker going on the Non-Football Injury list a few days ago, has already come. But as practice gets going and where others are health-wise has become clear, and its determined if they can participate or not right away, Campbell had more updates to offer.
Detroit Lions injury updates from Dan Campbell to start training camp
Next to Hooker, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley was likely to not be able to practice at the start of training camp as he works his way back from a torn ACL himself. Campbell said one of the new pieces of the Lions' secondary will go on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, and he's currently away from the team as an excused absence for medical reasons. That probably just means he's continue to rehab away from the team facility, where's he presumably comfortable.
Campbell said Emmanuel Moseley isn't here today for medical reasons, but declines to further elaborate.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) July 23, 2023
Campbell says Moseley is not quite ready yet. Still needs "a little bit more time" to heal from ACL injury
— Mike Payton (@AtoZ_Payton) July 23, 2023
Welcome to Lions training camp.
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) July 23, 2023
Dan Campbell says new CB Emmanuel Moseley isn't here yet, and that he'll land on PUP when he arrives. Adds that he's a little further away than they expected.
On the positive side, Campbell said defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike will practice on Sunday. The third-year man missed all of last season with a back injury, and he'll enter the fray to battle for a roster spot.
Third-year DT Levi Onwuzurike will not start camp on PUP. He's good to go. Really good news for that Lions defensive line. Campbell said they'll work him in. He missed all of last season with a back injury.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) July 23, 2023
And on the surprising side, wide receiver Marvin Jones will open training camp on the NFI list. But he is on-site at Allen Park, so his stay on that list may not be long. He can come off the list whenever he is deemed ready to practice.
Lions WR Marvin Jones starting training camp on the NFI list. He’s here, though.
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) July 23, 2023
He's here at Allen Park, FYI. https://t.co/1qeEW9pJSB
— Kory E. Woods (@KoryEWoods) July 23, 2023
All things considered, the Lions are in very good shape health-wise as training camp gets going.