Each spring and summer, the NFL’s organized team activities offer a fun time to finally catch teams back on the field, getting ready for the upcoming season for the first time in months. Sure, there’s no contract and the guy aren’t really playing, but it’s still exciting to get a first look at how a team’s chemistry is shaping up before the season.
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The OTAs, though, can also bring some overreactions, and that might be the case with the Detroit Lions. All eyes were on the Lions when they kicked off their OTAs this season, as head coach Dan Campbell forges ahead with a very different staff. Whenever a team heads into the season with a new staff makeup, some hiccups are expected, and that can make some observers draw too-soon conclusions.
Now, one NFL expert is pointing out a few red flags for the Lions, but remember that it’s very early to make big assumptions.
The Detroit Lions Sadly Deemed One of the ‘Biggest Losers’ from 2025 NFL OTAs
In a June 12 feature for Bleacher Report, Gary Davenport names the biggest winners and losers from the 2025 OTAs throughout the NFL. In the piece, he states that OTAs and mandatory minicamps are “an exciting time for fans” and offer a first chance for fans “to see their favorite team’s 2025 iteration together on the practice field.” He also discusses how the fanbase is able “to get a glimpse of the veteran quarterback the team brought in to lead the offense. To see the first-round rookie edge-rusher interact with the rest of the defense.”
But, for the Lions, Davenport names the team among the “biggest losers” in the NFL from their 2025 OTA performance. Ouch.
Thankfully, he admits that it’s early to draw such conclusions, stating, “OK, at this point it’s important to point out that it’s June and NFL players are participating in padless practices with minimal contact. There’s still a long way to go before Week 1.”
Dvaenport added, “That’s a good thing—because the new-look offense of the Detroit Lions is going through some growing pains.”
Dan Campbell Talks About Iffy Start to Offense
So, what’s so bad about the Lions this season? first, he points out the news that Amon-Ra St. Brown had to sit out OTAs after having knee surgery. He also points to Campbell telling reporters that the “defense is ahead of the offense as both units acclimate to new coordinators.”
“It was really just to get an introduction on what we’re doing,” Campbell said regarding the slow start to the offense. “Probably more up to speed defensively. It’s just about everybody getting on the same page with how defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard wants to do things.”
Davenport adds that come fall, Detroit “will likely once again be an offensive buzzsaw.” But, he warns that “this is a reminder that coming off the franchise’s most successful regular season ever, there are some big changes in Motown in 2025.”
Meanwhile, unfortunately, Davenport names Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears as winners in the OTAs. “If Williams can come close to matching his physical talents and mental understanding of the game,” Davenport states, “then a Bears team that focused its entire offseason on improving around him could be a real factor in the NFC North.”
