The Detroit Lions' coaching staff certainly noticed how new defensive tackle Roy Lopez was able to perform against one of the National Football League's top centers.
Last season, Detroit was able to defeat the Cardinals, 20-13, in Week 3 of the regular season.
Dan Campbell expressed the 27-year-old was noticeable when reviewing film of the game, as Detroit ran the football at a high rate and the team's newest defensive tackle was around the football often.
With Alim McNeill likely unavailable at the start of the 2025 season, Detroit's defense will be counting on Lopez and DJ Reader to be stout against the run.
“He’s a down and dirty (player) -- doesn’t mean he can’t play third down, but he lives in base a lot. He’s taking on the double teams, he’s keeping people off the backers," Campbell said of Lopez. "He can get an edge on you, and he’ll just do it time out, time in, time out, again, over and over. One of the things that impressed me about him was when we played him. Him going against Frank all day, we ran the heck out of the ball, but he held his own.”
Detroit's fifth-year head coach expressed he wants the defense's staple of being stout against the run to continue this upcoming season.
For Lopez, he was able to secure an additional $477,528.78 from the Cardinals in the form of a performance-based bonus for his play in his second season with the NFC West squad.
In 2024, Lopez recorded one sack, three passes defensed, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble and three quarterback hits in 16 games played.
