Stock report: Jacob Saylors, Ahmed Hassanein among Lions who impress in preseason opener
Cincinnati — Here are some Detroit Lions players who are trending up, down and staying level out of the team’s preseason matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Trending up: Ahmed Hassanein
Has any player generated more positive press this training camp than the former sixth-round pick out of Boise State? Everything we’ve been telling you about the second-year lineman was on display against the Bengals, starting with finding a lane on a stunt for a drive-ending sack of starting quarterback Joe Burrow.
Hassanein added a second, strip sack in the red zone, and had another QB hit that nearly resulted in an interception. He’s playing like a man who won’t be denied.
Trending down: Isaac TeSlaa
The second-year wide receiver’s summer struggles are another story that unfortunately carried from the practice field in camp into Paycor Stadium.
On the game’s opening series, with the Lions driving into Bengals territory, the drive came to a screeching halt when TeSlaa let a slant dart through his hands into his facemask, resulting in an interception.
TeSlaa also failed to hold on to a reasonably well-placed ball on fourth-and-3, killing a second drive on the opponent’s side of the field.
I asked Dan Campbell if he needs to offer TeSlaa any words of encouragement to prevent the struggles from spiraling and the coach said he wasn’t concerned because of the young receiver’s drive to be great. Campbell said it’s only a matter of time before TeSlaa strings together a few good plays in practice and the pendulum swings back up.