OTA takeaways: No timetable for Branch, Reed gets stem cell treatment, focus with edge additions and Manu getting look at guard
Allen Park — Ahead of the Detroit Lions’ final OTA practice, coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard met with local media.
Then, following the practice, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and cornerback DJ Reed had press sessions.
Here are some highlights from those conversations.
Staying patient
The Lions still aren’t putting a timetable on Brian Branch.
Campbell didn’t dismiss the slim possibility that the star safety could return to practice at some point during training camp before playfully stating he’s widening a window for the return to December, just to avoid being asked about the topic repeatedly the next few months.
“Anything before that is a bonus, that way you don’t have to ask me,” Campbell said.
Realistically, Branch will start training camp on the physically unable to perform list, with that stint carrying into the regular season.
The good news? There haven’t been any setbacks in Branch’s recovery. That can add significant time to the rehab process, like we’ve seen in recent years with cornerback Emmanuel Mosely and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who both required cleanup procedures after having ACL repair.
All the way back
Recovery from injury is going to be a theme with this post.
Since I brought him up, Rodriguez noted a night-and-day difference with how his body is feeling entering the offseason program, compared to his mid-season return from a year-long layoff in 2025.
“Yeah, I mean, it was just one of those things where I was dealing with some stiffness, trying to get through some scar tissue, getting that mental strength back. This year, I feel 10 times better.”
Rodriguez, entering his fifth season, is projected to serve as Detroit’s third linebacker in base packages. The former sixth-round pick has 25 career starts under his belt, but hasn’t been a full-time starter since his rookie season in 2022, when he piled up a career-best 87 tackles.
No stone unturned
Cornerback DJ Reed was sidelined six games in his first season with the Lions, more than he had missed the previous three years combined.
All things considered, Reed felt fortunate to return to action after suffering a severe hamstring strain. Still, the rehab was brutal, and even though he felt fine physically by the time he got back on the field, his film was telling him a different story.
“It was like same thing, same technique, but guys were just running by me,” Reed said, comparing his pre-injury to post-injury play. “I just didn't have that extra gear. It was definitely humbling.”
Reed has proactively sought treatments to strengthen the hamstring this offseason. That included a trip to Panama, where he got stem cell work done. He got the idea from a former teammate, 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner.
“The main goal for me is just to stay healthy,” Reed said. “I think that's really important and that's just doing my system, just hydrating, getting the right amount of sleep, just doing everything I can control.”
As for that burst Reed felt he lacked down the stretch last season, he believes he’s back to normal this offseason.
“Yeah, it's definitely there now,” Reed said.
Oft-injured CB bulks up
Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw has had his share of injury woes through two seasons. That includes missing the entirety of the 2025 campaign after requiring shoulder surgery.
Rakestraw missed Thursday’s practice with an illness, but has otherwise been a full participant. Asked what more he could do this offseason to better hold up against the rigors of the NFL, coach Campbell noted the young defender added some mass during his rehab last year.
“He’s added a little bit of bulk, he’s a little more dense than he was,” Campbell said. “That’s always going to help the body. There’s nothing to say, there’s nothing that would tell me that he won’t be physically prepared to go into training camp. Now, you know, whatever happens happens, but he’s where he’s supposed to be right now in early June.”
A second-round pick out of Missouri in 2024, Rakestraw was limited to eight games as a rookie and has logged just 46 defensive snaps through two seasons.
Entering his third year, he’s expected to compete with Rock Ya-Sin to be the team’s top reserve on the outside, backing up Reed and Terrion Arnold.
Loading up on length
Asked about the team’s revamped edge group that’s been paired with Aidan Hutchinson, Campbell highlighted the incoming talents’ length.
“We have got some length now,” Campbell said. “We have got some size and length and athletic ability on the perimeter.”
Sheppard noted he and the front office are in accord, viewing length as more valuable than speed as a complementary trait opposite Hutchinson, who the coordinator deemed a werewolf.
DJ Wonnum, who is projected to start, has 34 1/8-inch arms. Rookie Derrick Moore is a little less rangy, at 33 3/8 inches. While Peyton Turner, the former first-round pick, checks in at 35 3/8 inches.
Turner looks remarkably like former Lions defender Marcus Davenport, even wearing the same No. 92 jersey. Interestingly, Turner was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2021 to replace Davenport.
Unfortunately, like Davenport, Turner has battled a string of injury issues in recent years. That makes him a bit of a mystery, albeit a low-cost, low-risk one for the Lions.
“I know this, there’s been nothing he has done that has been a disappointment to us through all of spring, since we started this, the offseason program,” Campbell said. “The meetings have been good, the field work has been good, he’s moving around well, his care factor is up there, seems like he is a pretty smart guy, so you know we’re intrigued. That’s also why we brought him in. We liked him when he was coming out as a pup a long time ago, so we’ll see.”
Another name to watch this summer is undrafted rookie Anthony Lucas. He caught Sheppard’s eye when studying the prospect’s USC tape, particularly a 2024 matchup against Sheppard’s alma mater, LSU.
“He was a game wrecker,” Sheppard said. “If people go back, those two tackles that played at LSU that year, one of them was the No. 4 pick and the other went in the third round. Those are some pretty good players and he wrecked that game. So, as a guy I had my radar up on, how did we get this guy undrafted? So, we are very excited.”
The answer to why Lucas went undrafted is likely as simple as his production. He was a rotational player for three seasons and didn’t record his first sack until his senior year. He finished that campaign with 3.0.
Exploring alternatives
After spending most of his first two seasons repping at left tackle, Giovanni Manu has seen more work at both right tackle and guard this offseason.
Selected as a developmental project in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, Manu’s future is a little cloudy entering his third season. Despite the offseason departures of Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper, Manu remains fourth on the tackle depth chart, behind Penei Sewell, free-agent signing Larry Borom and first-round draft pick Blake Miller.
Campbell said the Lions still view Manu as a tackle, long-term, but are exploring his potential at other spots while shorthanded at guard. That includes veteran Ben Bartch being held out of action for precautionary reasons related to a 2025 foot injury.
“It’s actually kind of worked out good to just see what he looks like at guard,” Campbell said. “He’s still getting tackle reps. We’re trying to give him the best opportunity to showcase what he has. And who knows? Maybe he is better at guard. We still think tackle, but if he can prove something then that’s good. So we’ll see.”