The Detroit Lions hit the practice field on Friday for their third session of training camp, and with that we took another step closer to the pads coming on, which is set to happen on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Lions revealed they have lost one of their kickers, with head coach Dan Campbell announcing that kicker Michael Badgley is out for the year. Badgley suffered a torn hamstring in an earlier practice, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
In response to that, the Lions brought in four kickers for workouts in the morning, including Matt Ammendola, Lucas Havrisik, Matthew McCrane and Andre Szmyt. The last two kicked in the UFL earlier this year and had success. It's only a matter of time before the Lions add competition for Jake Bates, who remains the only kicker on the roster.
Now, what you came for: the biggest takeaways and standouts from the Lions' third practice of training camp.
Lions training camp standouts and takeaways
Who didn't practice?
The Lions were missing three players during practice on Friday, including wideout Jameson Williams, defensive back Brian Branch and guard Christian Mahogany. Williams and Branch were absent for personal reasons and Mahogany has been battling an illness, forcing him to miss all three practices thus far.
According to Pride of Detroit's Erik Schlitt, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and edge rusher Marcus Davenport remain limited.
In addition, D.J. Reader was spotted working on the side, with Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com noting he was "running, jumping, and working technique with the dummies."
RB3 battle heating up
There was a lot of hype for 2024 draft pick Sione Vaki after a strong showing during the offseason program, but Reynolds is reminding everyone why he has been the favorite for the RB3 role all along.
According to Twentyman, Reynolds particularly stood out with a pair of touchdown catches in the red-zone period. However, Twentyman added that Vaki had "a couple of nice grabs" as well, and Schlitt said that Vaki put linebacker James Houston "in a blender" behind the line of scrimmage on one play.
This one appears to be close right now, but Reynolds should be viewed as the favorite, if for no other reason than his experience.
Second-team offensive line
The Lions have been consistent with their second-team offensive line through three practices, giving us some insight into the potential pecking order. On Friday, it was (from left to right) Dan Skipper, Netane Muti, Michael Niese, Kayode Awosika and Colby Sorsdal.
Hendon Hooker has up-and-down day
Hooker was back to taking the second-team reps once again after working with the third-team offense on Thursday following a Day 1 that saw him take all of the second-team reps.
Per Schlitt, Hooker showed progress on one play by feeling pressure, spinning out of it, and getting his head up to make a play. He connected on several scores during the session, also.
However, it wasn't all great, as Hooker went to his second option too late on some plays, which lead to near interceptions and inaccurate throws.
