Pressers and scrums: Open roster spot, halting Super Bowl talk, captain named and Melifonwu's status

Allen Park — Following last week’s decision to place defensive lineman John Cominsky on injured reserve, the Detroit Lions only have 52 players on the team’s 53-man roster. According to coach Dan Campbell, the approach provides maneuverability as the team sorts out where they could best use an extra body heading into Sunday's season opener.

“It gives us flexibility to make a move if we need to, if we need to add somebody,” Campbell said. “There again, we're going to have a pretty good idea in, probably, 48 hours — 24, 48 hours — exactly how we want to go into this game and who we want to go into the game with.”

An obvious hole would seem to be at defensive tackle, where the Lions are light on run-stuffers with DJ Reader expected to need another week to get physically acclimated following a lengthy rehab for a torn quad and Brodric Martin landing on injured reserve. Combine that depth concern with a Rams offense that was more centered around the run late last season and added Blake Corum to their backfield mix, and it only adds to the need for more heft in the middle.

“Yes, you are going to need to have it against the Rams,” Campbell said. “I said this last year when we were getting ready to play 'em, man, they changed their style and they started having success. They altered a little bit of what they do and went out of traditionally the way coach (Sean) McVay has played it over there and it was really good for them.

"It's a little bit more of a downhill approach, take some hits off of (quarterback Matthew) Stafford, let him do what he does best, and it's a winning recipe," Campbell continued. "...So absolutely, we're going to need to be beefed up, ready to go up front.”

Campbell added the team likes the group they have with Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and rookie Mekhi Wingo.

“We feel like we have some options here,” Campbell said “But listen, a move could be made here. We're open to whatever is going to give us the best chance to have success.”

The clear choice would be promoting veteran Kyle Peko off the practice squad. He had a strong camp, working the back half of August with the first-team defense and thriving, particularly during a full-contact scrimmage ahead of Detroit’s final preseason game.

● Speaking of Onwuzurike, Campbell casually mentioned the fourth-year defensive tackle in a list of core guys on the roster. If you think the hype coming from the media is notable, the genesis of that is how good the coaching staff feels about the player.

It’s been tough sledding Onwuzurike's first three years. He was ineffective as a rookie and missed all of his second season with a back injury that required spinal fusion.

He returned to action last year, yet was highly limited. But those restrictions have been removed this offseason, leading to stretches of dominance on the practice field, which the team is convinced will port into the regular season.

“He came in and he clearly looked better,” Campbell said. “He looked healthy. He’s big, he’s strong. Then training camp with pads, whatever this has been, 30 days, hard heavy work, live days, you name it and there’s no indication that this is not holding up. He looks just as strong and powerful as ever. I think it’s here to stay.”

Aidan Hutchinson is Detroit’s only new captain for the 2024 season. (Getty Images)

● The Lions named their captains Monday afternoon and it’s a lot of carryover from last year. Representing the team again are quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, offensive tackle Penei Sewell and linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

The only newcomer to the leadership collective is third-year defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who replaces Charles Harris.

● No one on the Lions has shied away from the team’s Super Bowl aspirations, including general manager Brad Holmes, who just last week said winning the game was his expectation for the 2024 season.

But with the Rams on deck, Campbell is trying to quiet the talk of a championship, asking his players to focus on the incremental steps required to accomplish the ultimate goal.

“It’s funny because I just told the team, ‘Let’s not talk about it anymore,’” Campbell said. “…Now, we’re to the point now where that doesn’t even matter anymore. What does that do? Does nothing. Now it’s about the steps to get to there. And the steps are, you better win your division, because you get a home game. Then once you get a home game, it’s all about seeding. You win these head-to-heads, and all of sudden you’re the three seed, the two seed, maybe you’re the one seed. So, we have to win the division. It starts with this first game, NFC opponent who could win the (NFC) West.”

● After dealing with a number of bumps, bruises and strains throughout training camp, the Lions are heading into Week 1 nearly full strength. According to Campbell, the only player who isn’t expected to practice to start the week is defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu.

“Iffy would be the one right now who we're still not sure (about),” Campbell said. “Still not sure on him. We're going to try to get him moving around a little bit today and tomorrow to see where he's at. Everybody else, we're good.”

Melifonwu hasn’t practiced since the team’s second preseason game. In that matchup with Kansas City, he played 38 defensive snaps and was on the field for 10 special teams reps.

Campbell said the nagging injury pre-dates that contest. According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, Melifonwu had been getting treatment on his Achilles leading into the Kansas City game.

“It's slow-moving, that's all. It's slow healing,” Campbell said about the unidentified injury. (We'll) take it as it comes.”

Melfionwu is coming off a breakout season. Appearing in 17 games, including six starts, he recorded the first two interceptions of his career, added a forced fumble and tallied 3.0 sacks. Despite that, he'd been repping as a backup prior to the injury, displaced from the starting lineup by the team's decision to shift Brian Branch from nickelback to safety.

Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker has little to go on beyond Jared Verse’s college tape in preparation for their Week 1 matchup. (Getty Images)

● This week of preparation is new territory for offensive tackle Taylor Decker. For the first time in his career, he has no NFL tape — not even something from the preseason — to study Rams’ first-round pick Jared Verse.

Decker is a meticulous planner who takes notes after each of his matchups, which he later references when he sees an edge rusher in the future. This week, he's turning to college tape for the first time to get a better feel for Verse’s skill set and rush moves. The added benefit is Decker will also get to watch how Verse operates alongside defensive tackle Braden Fiske, his Florida State teammate, who the Rams selected in the second round.

The final piece to Decker’s preparation puzzle is consulting with a new teammate.

“Christian Mahogany, at Boston College, played against (Verse) last year,” Decker said. “So I'm kind of going to get some notes from him. I talked to him today about what I'm looking for and he might reach out to some of his buddies who played tackle and get any thoughts they have.”

Decker knows he can't prepare for everything. There are likely techniques Verse has been developing behind the scenes during training camp. But entering his ninth season, the Lions left tackle is confident in his ability to adjust.

“Obviously, he's a first-round pick, so he's going to be a talented guy,” Decker said. “Of course, I wish there was tape, at least from preseason, to go off, but I'll still approach it the same way. Then, if you have to adjust in the game, if you're getting things differently in the game, that's just part of playing the game. You've just got to adjust on the fly.”

● Professional athletes are always striving for consistency, and Anzalone has found his level the past couple of years, averaging 127 tackles, including seven for a loss each season.

But despite career-best numbers across the board otherwise, Anzalone was irked about one thing from his 2023 perforce that he’s focused on fixing.

“Last year was the first year I didn’t have any turnovers, so I feel like that’s definitely been a focus for me, personally,” Anzalone said. “...In man-to-man defense, it’s a little harder to get those interceptions, but forced fumbles are big, too. You have plenty of opportunities, just being intentional within those opportunities to get that done.” 

● Both Decker and Anzalone offered some hype for a teammate on the opposite side of the ball. For Decker, it was defensive end Marcus Davenport.

“I never played Davenport before,” Decker said. “He was always hurt whenever we would be matched up, but he's a big, edge-setting, powerful defensive end. He might have one of the best bull rushes that I've (faced).”

A former first-round pick, Davenport is both big (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) and an elite athlete.

As for Anzalone, he came to the media room lectern wearing a shirt featuring David Montgomery, raving about the veteran running back when asked about the attire choice.

"I'll say this, I'm happy training camp is over just for that reason,” Anzalone said. “We go live in training camp here, in practice, and I'm tired of tackling him, attempting to tackle him. I think he's one of the running backs that I have gone against for years, and then seeing him in person, and in practice, on my team, how he works and how he competes, I'm excited for him (this season). I'll put it that way, I'm excited for him to have a good year." 

● Asked what kind of reaction he expected former teammate Matthew Stafford to get this Sunday, Decker guessed it would be similar to the boos the quarterback drew during the playoffs last season.

“Knowing our fans, I'm expecting hostile territory for anybody who comes in here,” Decker said. “I know Stafford is going to take that in stride as a competitor. I don't think that's going to bother him one bit. But that's just the nature of the business. They want to cheer for their team and anybody who comes in here is the enemy. So we'll see. I could be wrong, but I think it will be hostile territory.”

Everyone in the building is looking forward to the atmosphere on Sunday, particularly after the unexpectedly large crowd the team drew for a preseason matchup against Pittsburgh. Decker believes there’s a chance for the Ford Field faithful to reset the bar they established multiple times last season.

“I'm fully expecting our fans to try and break that sound record again,” Decker said.