Allen Park — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery and offensive line coach Hank Fraley met with the media on Tuesday afternoon. Here are the highlights from those conversations.
Positive non-update on Joseph
Let’s start off with an injury update.
The Lions had full attendance for their first post-bye practice, including the return of cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, who missed the team’s Week 5 matchup against Arizona with a hamstring strain.
Of note, the Lions aren’t required to release an injury report until Wednesday. They’re off tomorrow, so it will be an estimated report.
More notable than Ya-Sin was encouraging comments from Campbell on safety Kerby Joseph. Although the former All-Pro safety remains without a timeline, the coach said he anticipates Joseph will return to action this season.
“He's doing well,” Campbell said. “I'll leave it at that. He really is. He's doing a good job. I'm not going to give you a timetable, but I've been pleased with where he's at. He's in a good head space right now, which is great because that's hard. You're coming off this, you're wanting to go and you're working at it, and at some point it's time for football. We all know that and recognize it, but we'll take it one day at a time.”
Joseph has been out of action for more than a year, last appearing in a game Oct. 12, 2025.
Delivering on expectations
During the bye week, a fan-shot video from the Jets game in Week 3 made the rounds on social media, showing wide receiver Jameson Williams antagonizing 258-pound defender Kingsley Enagbare before retreating to get backup, which was provided by guard Tate Ratledge.
It’s undoubtedly a comical video, capturing Williams’ often unbridled childlike enthusiasm and Ratledge’s role as a protector, not just of the quarterback, but all his teammates.
Montgomery couldn’t stifle a laugh when the video was brought up on Tuesday.
“I did see that,” Montgomery said. “I was hoping that question was never asked. (But) kind of enjoyed it. That is how it works in life. You know, if you're surrounded by the right people, you can be protected. If you're not, then you're out there by yourself against people you shouldn't be. So for me, that was a great team moment.”
That opened the door for Montgomery to talk about Ratledge, a player he hyped up as one of the roster’s most-improved during the offseason program, which has come to fruition through the early stages of the regular season.
“His pad level from last year to this year is completely different,” Montgomery said. “Also, his confidence is completely different. And we've had different people beside him, which that's difficult for a young player to have a center beside him for a part of the training camp, switch, and still be able to continue to stay on the (upswing).”
Fraley echoed the sentiment about Ratledge’s pad level, but highlighted the guard’s mental improvement as the biggest key to his second-year growth.
“I think his mind, playing a game faster without thinking,” Fraley said. “The speed of the game has slowed down for him. “…Initially, it showed up in OTAs. He wasn't thinking out there, he was responding to looks and doing it without thinking.”
Pick you poison
This season, no quarterback has attempted more deep passes — 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage — than Green Bay’s Jordan Love. It helps that he has two reliable vertical threats on the outside in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden.
Those two weapons rank fifth and sixth in receiving production this season, both topping 500 yards through Green Bay’s first six games. Campbell was asked what kind of challenge those two present this Sunday.
“It presents some big challenges because these aren't guys that can (just) track the ball down,” Campbell said. "They have got speed, now. They have got speed and they can track the ball, and the quarterback gives them a nice, pretty ball, man, lays it out there. And, really, about 50% of these are either DPI (defensive pass interference) or catches, which is — talk about explosive.
“So, that's the danger in it,” Campbell said. “Wherever you're having to use some resources, then now you have got to worry about (tight end Tucker) Kraft. If you're going to use (resources) to take the top off on some of this, well now you have got Kraft underneath, and you have got to worry about the backs. It does, it creates some issues, man, that you have got to be ready for. And some of it is you better pick your poison. You can't defend all of it, so you better pick your poison, and what you think means the most to you to stop.”
Regarding Golden, the 2025 first-round pick, he’s already blown past his rookie-year production while having to shoulder a bigger offensive load with the offseason departure of Romeo Doubs and a season-ending injury suffered by Jayden Reed.
On the hunt for a third receiver last offseason, Campbell said the Lions did a lot of homework on Golden ahead of the draft.
“He has really good ball skills, man, can track it, pluck it,” Campbell said. “And then the speed — speed, explosiveness really showed up. He's really taken a step up. He's really improved his game even from a year ago. He's taken that second-year jump and he's just, really, throughout the year, he's grown. Every game he's gotten better and better and you can tell there is a lot of trust between the quarterback and him.”
Tough to replace
Tom Kennedy is undergoing surgery on Tuesday for the season-ending knee injury he suffered against the Cardinals a little more than a week ago.
Kennedy primarily served as a return man, logging only one offensive snap prior to the injury, but few realize the veteran served as the primary backup at all three receiver spots, in case of injury.
Montgomery said that’s not easy to replace, on the practice field or on game day.
“It's more difficult than you think, because for certain instances, he is a security blanket that can actually do more than secure you,” Montgomery said. “He can play the F, he can play the X, he can play the Z.”
Montgomery said Kennedy is also a valuable set of eyes on the sideline, and in the classroom during the week, because he’s like another coach.
“I can give him exactly what I want, man, and I get that information even quicker than I can from the box sometimes, because he's right there with me on the sidelines,” Montgomery said. “So that part is difficult.
“The other part is just the competitive nature that he has inside of the room, making our guys compete in the classroom, making sure everybody, the details when it's asked, is answered the right way.”
Answering the bell
Few players on the roster were more publicly challenge, both in word and action, than guard Christian Mahogany.
Ultimately, injuries prevented anyone else from having a realistic shot of unseating Mahogany from his left guard job, but that hasn’t stopped the third-year lineman from stepping up and making the improvements the team had hoped to see.
Fraley noted while this is always going to be a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, he’s been impressed with the consistency of Mahogany’s effort to begin this season.
“You see that on the field, (but also) with the daily routine here, being more of a professional, doing things right on the practice field, the weight room, all that stuff,” Fraley said. “He's growing as an individual, and it's only going to pay off for him.”
As a father, Fraley said he’s always tried to instill the mindset of working hard, even when no one is looking. The assistant feels like Mahogany was able to tap into that way of thinking this offseason.
Fraley noted that Mahogany is still a rookie in some ways, given the number of starts he’s made and snaps he’s played, so there’s still so much more room to grow and develop.
The coaches responses regarding TK sure makes him sound like a future NFL coach…
GB’s game plan, slot slant Watson, slot slant Golden, Love tucks and runs. If the D doesn’t dominate, I’m seeing this in my nightmares.