Pressers and scrums: Injury updates, Hooker's need to run smarter and Raymond's message to UDFA Williams

East Rutherford, N.J. — Injuries will forever be the worst part about football. Whatever you thought about a player’s roster chances, it’s always difficult to see a season prematurely ended.

Two Detroit Lions are facing potential season-ending injuries after Thursday’s preseason game against the New York Giants. Defensive lineman David Bada, who was recently added through the International Pathway Program, suffered a non-contact Achilles injury in the third quarter. And in the fourth frame, second-year offensive tackle Connor Galvin had to be carted off after suffering a left knee injury.

Without confirming, Lions coach Dan Campbell noted both look to be significant.

The Lions also racked up several more minor injuries in the preseason loss to the Giants, including concussions for wide receiver Antoine Green and quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Green remained facedown on the MetLife turf for a couple minutes after taking a big shot while attempting to deliver a block. Hooker’s injury was more subtle, being removed from the game by the independent neurologist after a third-quarter drive.

Campbell said he didn’t know when Hooker suffered the injury, but speculated it might have been during one of the QB’s four runs. There was one carry late in the series where he plowed through a defender, which seems like a likely culprit.

I asked Campbell how important it is to coach that physicality out of Hooker.

“That’s what happens when you run,” Campbell said. “In this league, at the quarterback position, I mean you’re going to take some hits, and so you’ve got to be real selective. He’s going to have to learn to be selective. e’s going to need to slide. So some of those things, if he is going to use more of his legs, it’s good, it gets you out of trouble, but that’s the downside of it. You expose yourself to hits. I think him being able to do some of that would be good for his game, but certainly, yeah, we need to limit that, and he’s got to play in the pocket and make some throws there.”

● Campbell was asked to name some players who caught his eye with their performances. The first name the coach mentioned was undrafted receiver Isaiah Williams.

A prolific pass-catcher in the Big Ten, the 5-foot-10, 186-pounder had a slow start to camp, but has started making some plays the past several days. That ported to the game with four grabs (on four targets) for 35 yards, both team-highs in the contest.

Williams said the biggest adjustment to this level has been learning he’s no longer able to get by on his athleticism, forcing him to focus on being more precise and deliberate in everything he does.

“It's just everybody is good,” Williams said. “Everybody is talented, everybody is fast, everybody is smart. You've really got to be detailed. You're not going to get away with being more athletic than anybody else. …I think the biggest thing is the details. At this level, you really have to be detailed, especially a guy like me. I'm undersized, you know what I'm saying? So I've got to be super detailed, make sure I'm at the right spot at the right time, and just be quarterback-friendly.”

I talked to Williams when he first arrived in Detroit, for rookie minicamp in May, and he told me his agent was pushing him to get in good with Kalif Raymond, a veteran who had similar physical limitations, but also elite work ethic to overcome them.

After the game, Williams raved about Raymond’s mentorship each step of the way through this first offseason, including a key piece of advice before Thursday’s game.

“He's like a big brother to me, somebody I look up to, somebody I study all the time,” Williams said. “He's just a good dude, all in all. I mean, even beyond football, I look up to him as a person, how he carries himself. Man, I can't say enough good things about that dude. He a real solid dude.

“Even before the game he said, 'I'm going to give you one thing today, bro. Run every single route like you're going to get the ball. Every single route.' I mean, that paid off. Everything he tells me, good advice, great advice, it pays off.”

● Second-round rookie cornerback Ennis Rakestraw drew the start with many of the veterans sitting out, and at first glance, performed well in the opportunity. But he’ll also always be able to laugh at his first game after running into and falling in the practice net for the kickers on the sideline.

"I was overall just doing my job really well,” Rakestraw said. “Got 'em off the field on third down. All the older guys got hype, so that was a really special moment. Then running into the field goal (net), I'll be honest, that hurt a little bit."

● It was a positive night for second-year defensive tackle Brodric Martin, who got a ton of work and finished with four tackles, a half-sack and two pass deflections.

It’s been a tough road to this point for Martin, who spent much of his first year as a healthy scratch. And even this camp, he’s fallen behind veteran journeyman Kyle Peko on the depth chart. So to be able to show the progress made in one year was rewarding, even if Martin understands he’s got a long ways to go to get to the level he wants to be at.

“I’ve been working my butt off to be better,” Martin said. “I’ve got good coaching now and I feel like it showed a little bit. I still got a ways to go, don’t get me wrong. I got lots of ways to go for the first (regular season) game and all that, but I feel like I set a good base to work from.

“I felt way more confident and way more comfortable playing out there,” Martin continued. “I was watching the tape from last year, my first game against New York, and just looking at it, man, knowing how I just played out there, I feel like it was good. I definitely upgraded myself.”