Pressers and scrums: Anzalone reports in excellent condition, idea of 'hold in' rejected by Campbell

Allen Park — Here are a few notable items to come out of the media access from the first day of training camp practice for the Detroit Lions.

Reporting for duty

Despite opting not to participate in the voluntary portions of the offseason program, veteran linebacker and defensive captain Alex Anzalone reported with the rest of the team’s veterans this weekend.

Anzalone didn’t practice on Sunday, one of a small group of players dealing with a minor injury, according to coach Dan Campbell. Regardless, there were no concerns about the defender’s conditioning.

“He crushed the conditioning test, weight was good,” Campbell said.

Normally, an accomplished veteran not showing up for OTAs wouldn’t be noteworthy. However, Anzalone is clearly pushing for an extension as he enters the final year of a three-year contract he signed ahead of the 2023 season. This offseason, he’s shared a number of posts on social media that highlighted his value to the Lions, as well as his salary relative to similarly productive peers.

Campbell was asked whether Anzalone’s absence from practice was actually a “hold in,” where a player reports on time to avoid fines while not participating. The coach rejected the suggestion.

“No way, right?” Campbell said. “I refuse to believe that.”

Obvious area of focus

Campbell was asked about his biggest concern entering camp. While he pushed back on the word choice, he acknowledged his attention is in the same place as the fan base’s entering camp.

“My eyes are on the o-Line,” Campbell said. “I want to see what that unit’s going to do and what’s going to come out of that. We need some guys to step up for us. It’s a great opportunity. We lost Frank (Ragnow). (Kevin) Zeitler’s gone. So, we have two or three more spots there for guys to step up and help us.

“Once that happens, then mesh. The guys that we know we can trust, this is where they’re going to play and then getting whoever those five are together to where they start working together and start trusting each other.”

As it’s currently trending, Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratlege are positioned to fill the holes created by Ragnow’s retirement and Zeitler’s departure in free agency.

Both young linemen primarily played right guard in college. Still, Mahogany has been taking most of his reps at left guard while Ratledge continues to get a long look at center.

“It's not like I haven't been practicing that since last year,” Mahogany said. “Coach (Hank) Fraley is big on if you're not playing as much, work on both sides. I've been doing that. Now, primarily, mostly left. It's just adjusting and flipping my feet, really.”

Adding a layer of excitement to Mahogany’s potential is the fact that he spent the offseason in Detroit, working closely with All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell.

Remember me?

David Montgomery has a chip on his shoulder. Make that a chip on both.

The first relates to his perceived contributions to the offense. He gets it. There is a ton of star power on the roster. However, the veteran back is determined to remind everyone that he also plays a crucial role in Detroit’s record-breaking group.

“Yeah, this is probably the hungriest I've been,” Montgomery said. “I feel like everybody forgets I'm here in the offense, too. I'm not here to prove anybody wrong. I'm here to prove myself right. I want to be the best teammate I can be, but I definitely have a big chip on my shoulder.

"...I spend a lot of time alone, to myself, just talking to myself, giving myself pep talks about the reality of what it actually is," Montgomery continued. "I focus on the things that aren't true. It's really a lot of me vs. me than me vs. anybody else."

The steady and reliable Montgomery’s contributions have somewhat gotten swallowed up by backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs, who earned second-team All-Pro honors last year after racking up 1,929 yards from scrimmage and finding the end zone 20 times.

Gibbs’ numbers got a boost late in the season when Montgomery had to miss some time with a knee injury. The veteran feels that the brief absence contributed to his sentiments of being forgotten.

Greater than the individual recognition, Montgomery is fueled by the team falling short of its Super Bowl aspirations. He's moved on from last year's disappointment, noting he's been around the league long enough to not be focused on spilled milk. Still, he’s grown tired of coming up short.

“Everybody out here is hungry,” Montgomery said. “We're tired of just being close. Everybody is tiring of being close. It's cool to be close, at first, but you don't want to get comfortable with being close all the time. That's not what you want to be known for, especially when you know you've got the guys you've got on this team. You want to finish it. This is the year for us. It's the year of reckoning.”

Bring on the pads

There’s a collectively bargained ramp-up period before the pads will come on. Regardless, you can always tell certain players are craving the added contact. On Sunday, Mahogany got a little overamped on a screen pass, knocking teammate Derrick Barnes to the ground.

“Derrick is a good dude,” Mahogany said. “I didn't mean to do that. A lot of guys, they talk, talk, talk. When the pads come on, it's (different). I never had pads on here, yet. This is my first camp. I'm very hungry. I'm itching a little bit.”

Engine will stay revved

After last season’s rash of injuries, Campbell was asked if he had any planned adjustments to his camp approach.

Short answer: Nah.

“We have to go, man,” Campbell said. “There are restrictions on what you can do, anyways. We have an acclimation period here for four days. Once we put the pads on, we’re going man, like we do. We have to get ready for a hard season, you have to condition the body physically. We’ll be smart about it like we always do, so nope.”