Dave Birkett on 3 biggest storylines as Lions enter 2026 training camp
Lions insider Dave Birkett breaks down the top three storylines to know before the team begins its 2026 training camp.
Video Transcript
Hey everybody, Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, back from my annual summer hiatus in time for another Detroit Lions training camp.
Appreciate you joining me here on freak.com as always, clicking here and keeping it here.
I'm gonna start off the summer, practice opens Wednesday, training camp officially opens, but I'm gonna start off the summer with a look at the three biggest storylines I think the Lions have to figure out this summer, questions that will determine whether or not they make it back to the playoffs and how far they go.
Number one to me is the depth of the secondary.
They have some injury concerns back there at safety right now.
Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch obviously starting camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Terrion Arnold's unfortunate off-field incident, he's no longer with the team.
That's left the Lions with some depth concerns at cornerback.
The biggest question right now is, is safety and how the Lions handle that position until Branch and Joseph presumably are, are both back at some point early in the season.
I think Kirby will be activated at some point in training camp.
If he's not, that's a, a bad sign.
This is a degenerative condition, and it's just a matter of how much pain he can tolerate and how much he'll be able to play this year.
We'll see about Branch and when he comes back.
It could be early in the season as well.
The Lions need both those guys on the field.
Number two is the state of that offensive line.
It was a big question mark last year.
It was something that hindered the offense.
There was a lot of shuffling that went on this off-season.
Penei Sewell moving from right to left tackle, of course he's an All-Pro.
The Lions signed Kaden Mays, a new center.
They drafted Blake Miller, a rookie, to play right tackle.
There's a little bit of a camp battle I expect at left guard, though Christian Mahogany should be the favorite to win that.
How that unit gels, they should practice a lot together, that will help them, but how that unit gels early in the season will dictate what this offense does.
Number three to me is new offensive coordinator Drew Petsching.
I don't expect huge changes on offense, but the reality is this is the Lions' third offensive play caller in three years, fourth if you consider Dan Campbell.
So it's a big question mark going into the season as to how this offense is going to evolve, whether they can recapture some of the magic they had under Ben Johnson a couple years ago.
Obviously, they were still really productive last year with John Morton as coordinator, but they weren't quite as consistent.
Some of the metrics weren't there.
They weren't Some of the, the key situations, third down, scoring after the other team scored, they just, they just weren't as efficient as they needed to be.
And so with a new coordinator, a new playbook in some regards, and, and obviously the same returning skill talent, but some guys that are waiting on contract extensions still, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta.
LaPorta coming back from injury.
It'll be interesting to see how those things develop this summer.
Again, those are my top three storylines, things I'll be watching all summer that I think will determine how far the Lions will go this season, whether they'll make it back to the postseason and have a chance to win the Super Bowl.
Feeling good about their chances right now, but we haven't seen 'em in pads yet.
We haven't seen 'em practice.
That's coming up later this week.
I'm Dave Birkett, freak.com.
Thanks for joining me.
We'll see you all summer here on freak.com
