As the 2025 NFL preseason kicked off with the Hall of Fame Game, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell decided to begin the action in bizarre fashion.
Sent back to return the opening kickoff was linebacker Grant Stuard, but things quickly turned for the worst. Stuard wound up committing a Mark Sanchez-like mistake and fumbled that opening kickoff, resulting in the Los Angeles Chargers taking over possession and ultimately scoring a touchdown.
Campbell wasn't about to pull the linebacker off return duties, though. He immediately put Stuard back there to return the next kickoff.
Dan Campbell is going to do Dan Campbell things and no one can stop him
Here's the thing. On one hand, Campbell is sending a message that, first of all, he is not afraid to think outside the box and do things his own way. This comes as a shock to absolutely nobody, of course.
But secondly, he appears very serious about letting Stuard handle return duties on a reserve basis, at the very least.
For Stuard to end up playing this role in the regular season, something would obviously have to happen with the likes of Khalif Raymond and Craig Reynolds ahead of him.
But, for that to also happen, it would mean Stuard earned a reserve role as both a linebacker and a return man.
How is that for something rarely (if ever) seen in this league? It's not every day you see a player active on both sides of the ball, as we're going to end up seeing with someonel ike Travis Hunter in Jacksonville.
But, what Campbell and the Lions are doing here is just plain strange. A linebacker is sent back to return kicks. Who knew?
Now, in all seriousness and to be fair, Stuard has been doing this in practice. In fact, Stuard ran the 400m in high school track. So, there is at least a bit of method to Campbell's madness. Still, it doesn't take away from just how goofy it sounds on the surface.
The Lions are allowing a linebacker to return kicks.
Yep, I suppose that's got to play. Campbell is making sure of it.
