Paula Pasche

Detroit Lions face tough decisions when it comes to wide receivers with roster cuts looming

ALLEN PARK — With the roster cutdown deadline at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes still have work to do.

“A tough 48 hours coming up, but I really appreciate these guys,’’ Campbell said at noon on Monday.

One position where some tough decisions must be made is at wide receiver. The three locks are Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond. It’s uncertain how many they will keep.

Undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams, who wears 83, appears to have earned a roster spot with a consistent, steady showing at training camp.

“You guys know what 83 is, it’s shown up – he’s made plays all camp. He’s really more that slot, he falls into the mode a little bit like Saint (St. Brown), Lif (Raymond) and Tom Kennedy.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, entering his fifth NFL season, and rookie Daurice Fountain, entering his fourth, are also in the mix. Both are 6-feet-2.

“They are big guys, they are big receivers, they’ve got length to them and for their size they can run pretty good,’’ Campbell said. “So there’s that element of that – can you play big-boy ball outside, redzone comes into play. So if you don’t have it (size) you do feel a little small. You feel it would be nice to have the size. You wish that would show up a lot more but that’s what those two guys bring – that’s that type of flavor that we talk about all the time. We would love to have a little bit of everything – you’ve got speed, you’ve got quickness, you’ve got size, gadget.’’

Campbell said he and Holmes have many questions to weigh.

“Have we seen enough out of those guys to where we feel like we can use them or need to use them sooner than later. Or will they provide value depth or role players? The other thing is special teams, how much do they bring on special teams,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t know it’s tough to say. It will all come into play.’’

Detroit Lions QB Hendon Hooker back at practice after suffering concussion in preseason game

ALLEN PARK — Hendon Hooker’s mom Wendy is not a football coach, but has a little something to say about the way her son plays.

The Detroit Lions backup quarterback was back at practice on Wednesday after he sustained a concussion in the 14-3 preseason loss at the Giants on Thursday.

Hooker needs work on his sliding technique which might have saved him from a concussion on Thursday.

“My mom is a huge fan of sliding. So I always get it from her, but now the coaches are on me as well,’’ Hooker said on Wednesday. ‘“We’ve got to slide.’ That’s her thing, she’s been saying that for years. I’m learning.’’

He said he was not trying to run the guy over. “I just braced for impact and he kind of bounced off me,’’ said Hooker, a third-round pick by the Lions in 2023.

That was his first game of any sort in over a year after spending last season recovering from ACL surgery.

Practicing is good, but playing is everything.

“It helps a lot because the game is different than practice,’’ Hooker said. “You’re in command, coaches are on the field with you. You’re orchestrating the whole offense, your speed, your tempo and your rhythm.’’

He completed 5 of 9 passes against the Giants and carried four times for 34 yards.

“I thought I did a good job of decision making and controlling the offense, having a good tempo, getting up to the line, operating at a high level,’’ Hookier said.

Coach Dan Campbell said there’s a “good chance” Hooker could play in Detroit’s next preseason game on Saturday in Kansas City.

Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchinson works on his game opposite Sewell and learning from Davenport

Concentrated on mind, body, spirit in offseason

ALLEN PARK — Aidan Hutchinson, entering his third season as a defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions, expects his growth as a player to continue to evolve.

He spent time changing certain routines in the offseason before training camp started a week ago.

“I really got my routines down with my diet, with a lot of my recovery, with a lot of the mental work I do as well. I feel like mind, body, spirit is getting those three facets of my life under control and operating at a high level is what I was focusing on,’’ Hutchinson said on Wednesday.

He hopes it sets him up for plenty of success this season.

The first-round pick in 2022 didn’t ease his way into the NFL He was on fire from the get-go as a rookie, finishing that season with 9.5 sacks. That number jumped to 11.5 in 2023. Often he might not have earned the sack statistic, but he’s the one whose play led to it.

In camp he is fine-tuning his game by lining up against right tackle Penei Sewell every day and learning from a new veteran teammate.

“It’s great, (Sewell and I) really do go back and forth every day. I get him a couple times, he may get me a couple times the next day. It’s a lot of fun,’’ Hutchinson said. “To get that work against that good of a player, it’s only going to help me in season, against a lot of the tougher O-lines we’re playing against. We’ve been going against each other for three years now.’’

Also this season he has a new linemate in seven-year veteran Marcus Davenport who signed with the Lions as a free agent after spending last season with the Vikings. They can make each other better.

“Every guy kind of sees the game a little differently. We were sitting there yesterday watching film, I was picking his brain,’’ Hutchinson said. “He sees things differently than I do in terms of how his process works pre-snap and how he works during the play. It’s funny how different guys minds operate but we’re all doing the same thing.’’

Coach Dan Campbell gave the team a break on Wednesday with a shorter unpadded practice that was more of a walk-through. That came after the first two days of pads.

“I think Dan has a great mind when it comes to that,’’ said Hutchinson of his coach who played 10 seasons in the NFL.