The Detroit Lions were back on the practice field for their second session of mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, and the session was once again open to the media, which will be the case on Thursday, also.
After the final session on Thursday afternoon, the Lions will have a few days off before they return to the practice field for the final three practices of voluntary organized team activities from June 10-12. Once those practices are completed, Detroit will look ahead to training camp at the end of July.
As far as Wednesday was concerned, the Lions saw a player leave early due to an injury. We also received an update on the kicker competition and got a preview of the Lions' potential starting duo at cornerback.
We cover those things and much more in our takeaways from Day 2 of mandatory minicamp.
Lions takeaways from Day 2
Participation report
Non participants, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, LT Taylor Decker, G Kevin Zeitler, EDGE Marcus Davenport, DT D.J. Reader, DT Kyle Peko, CB Emmanuel Moseley, CB Craig James, CB Brian Branch.
Only walkthrough work: C Frank Ragnow, G Kayode Awosika, S Kerby Joseph
Limited work: EDGE James Houston, CB Terrion Arnold, CB Ennis Rakestraw
Before practice, head coach Dan Campbell revealed that Gibbs is dealing with a soft-tissue injury, although he didn't go into specifics on the exact injury or severity.
James Turner bests Michael Badgley
Per Reisman, Michael Badgley went 4-for-6 on field goals, with missed kicks from 55 and 56 yards. His makes came from 54, 52, 34 and 33. Meanwhile, UDFA James Turner made all six attempts from the same distances.
Notes on CBs
Per Twentyman, rookie Terrion Arnold and veteran Carlton Davis lined up across from one another on the outside for the first time this spring. Arnold had another strong day that included a pass defensed on a third down play in a situational drill.
Cornerback Khalil Dorsey notched his second pick-six in as many days, but he came down with a lower leg injury and left early, per ESPN's Eric Woodyard. Kyle Meinke of MLive.com noted that Dorsey was carted off and the injury occurred near the end of practice. The severity of Dorsey's injury remains unknown.
Bounce-back day for Hendon Hooker
After struggling a bit on Tuesday, the second-year signal-caller had a better day on Wednesday, Twentyman wrote:
There was a stretch early in practice where he connected on back-to-back touchdown throws to tight end James Mitchell and wide receiver Maurice Alexander. Then he launched a deep ball down the middle to wide receiver Kaden Davis, who made a great diving catch. He also made a terrific 16-yard touchdown throw in a tight window to wide receiver Kalif Raymond in the back of the end zone in a situational period. It was a good day for Hooker overall Wednesday.
It wasn't all good, though, as Reisman noted in his observation:
I would call Wednesday Hooker’s best practice I’ve seen yet, especially as it pertains to his accuracy. He was hitting passes from short, medium, and deep distances and all with appropriate velocity. However, mental mistakes are far too prevalent. He’s continuing to hold the ball for too long, and his time management mistake was unacceptable.
Hooker is going to have his fair share of struggles like he did on Tuesday, but the kind of bounce-back day he had on Wednesday is exactly what you hope to see in response. He clearly still has plenty of work to do, though.
Two WRs stand out
Wide receiver Kaden Davis has been enjoying a good minicamp so far. After two touchdown receptions on Tuesday, Davis recorded a diving catch on Wednesday, as Twentyman noted in the write-up above.
In addition, wide receiver Jameson Williams had a good day, per Twentyman:
I thought wide receiver Jameson Williams had a nice day Wednesday. He made a lunging catch along the right sideline early in practice in a team drill. In the same drill, he made a contested catch over the middle. Later, Goff launched a deep ball down the right sideline in a 7-on-7 period and Williams made a nice over-the-shoulder grab after a little bit of hand fighting on tight coverage from Davis.
Here's the clip of Williams' over-the-shoulder grab, which was also a beautiful throw from Jared Goff:
BIG PLAY WAYMO@bigsgjamo pic.twitter.com/b03MRZ32eJ
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) June 5, 2024
Two defensive linemen stand out
According to Reisman, Levi Onwuzurike had a pair of pressures after notching two the day before. Onwuzurike has been working on the edge, also, per Twentyman, and he received some praise from head coach Dan Campbell earlier in the day.
Onwuzurike wasn't the only D-lineman to stand out, though, as Josh Paschal had a few pressures, as well.
