Monday recap: Campbell makes no promises on deadline deal, Jamo set to be thrown back into the fire

Allen Park — With the clock ticking under 24 hours until the NFL’s trade deadline, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell remained non-committal about whether his team would be able to execute a deal, despite reports to the contrary.

“Yeah, I think it’s hard to say,” Campbell said. “I don’t think it’s entirely up to us. I can tell you that we’re trying, (general manager) Brad (Holmes) is trying, and we’ve looked at everything. We really have made a ton of calls and he’s been rolling on it. So, we’ll see. We still have a little bit of time here. We have until tomorrow evening, so we’ll see what happens.”

As he has multiple times in recent weeks, Campbell expressed confidence in his team’s ability to have success with or without a trade.

“I mean, look, if it’s not (happening), we’re rolling,” Campbell said. “We got our guys and we’re going, and that’s the bottom line. And if something doesn’t get done, we’ll start poaching some of these other practice squads, see if we can find some guys that we really liked when they were coming out (in the draft) that have some ability, see if they can grow, and then we’ll continue to give our guys here on this roster a shot.”

Pass-rush production has been hard to come by for the Lions since Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury last month. In three games without their star, the defensive ends have recorded zero sacks.

On Sunday, Pro Football Talk reported a deal was imminent between the Lions and Browns for veteran defensive end Za'Darius Smith, one of the top defenders believed to be available. According to an ESPN report last week, the Browns were looking for an early Day-3 draft pick in exchange for the 32-year-old Smith, who has 5.0 sacks on the season.

Back in business

Wide receiver Jameson Williams’ two-game suspension is over and the plan is to immediately reinsert him into the game plan for next week's matchup with Houston.

Williams wasn't able to be at practice during his suspension, but he was otherwise in the building, staying on top of things.

“He’s been here,” Campbell said. “He couldn’t be out there in practice, but he was here training. We had him running, he’s in the meetings, all of that. He’s really been here, and honestly, we’re throwing him back in there. I mean he’s going. …We’re going to kick him out there with the offense and get him going and I expect him to be ready to roll.”

Not captured in Campbell's quote is the coach throwing a quick kick while at the podium for his Monday press conference.

The Lions were able to overcome Williams’ absence, besting the Titans and Packers while the receiver was out. Still, the explosive playmaker's return is welcomed. Despite scoring 76 points in those two games, the team lacked big plays, outside a 70-yard touchdown run for running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

In six games this season, Williams had 17 catches for 361 yards and three touchdowns.

Moving on

Campbell acknowledged hearing fans were using social media to highlight similar hits to the one that got Brian Branch ejected from Sunday’s game, but he hadn’t seen any of those plays.

The only clarity Campbell received from the league on Branch's ejection is they felt the defender's helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers receiver Bo Melton crossed a threshold of intent.

“What we were told was that it was intent, it was flagrant, and it is what it is,” Campbell said.

Beating them at their own game

Both on Friday and during his postgame speech in the locker room after Sunday's win, Campbell said the team didn’t need to validate anything. Regardless, even if that was his view going into and coming out of the game, his team did prove something, being able to beat another top contender in the NFC in their own environment.

“I really believe that we can play anywhere in any type of elements,” Campbell said. “We can play indoor, we can play with a big crowd, we can play if it’s COVID season again and nobody’s there. I just think that’s how we are. That’s how this team is, that’s the type of guys we have, that’s the type of coaches we have, that is a part of our culture, that’s part of our identity.

“I would say it’s satisfying to be able to know that you can go do that and I do feel like — I think (quarterback Jared) Goff made a comment about being like a chameleon," Campbell said. "I think that’s very true. I think we can play any type of game that we need to play depending on where you’re at, who the opponent is, environment, everything. I think we can win a lot of different ways and that’s a good thing.”

Well stated

Campbell was asked if he felt he was coaching the best team in the NFL right now and delivered the perfect response.

“I mean that’s hard to say,” Campbell said. “Certainly, I feel like we can beat anybody in the League, and I think that’s what it’s about.”