The tragic road traveled and enduring motivation for Lions' rookie Melvin Priestly
Allen Park — Practice ended more than 20 minutes earlier, and much of the chaotic energy from those initial moments after the day’s final whistle has dissipated.
Most of the Detroit Lions coaching staff and roster have wearily trudged inside the practice facility, weaving between a couple dozen media members and team employees — a handful graciously stopping for interview requests en route — as they prepare for the next phase of their workday.
The fans who had lined the perimeter of the practice fields, clamoring for autographs, have largely dispersed. Proud parents, smiling spouses and waddling toddlers, who had come out to support players fighting for roles and jobs, steal a quick embrace before they too head home.
Meanwhile, many of the rosters youngest, least experienced players put in some post-practice work, reinforcing the muscle memory of fundamentals required to succeed at the professional level.
That’s where you’ll find guard Melvin Priestly each day, working alongside a handful of offensive linemen on the roster’s fringes.
As he heads toward the facility, Priestly detours after spotting quarterback Luke Altmyer, a former teammate at the University of Illinois who has joined him as a rookie in Detroit.
The two take a knee staring out at the field, soaking in the moment after the physical, padded practice. For a second time, they’ve reached the same destination on their football journey, but the roads traveled have been different.
There are no easy paths to the NFL. Each is paved with hard work and overcoming adversity. The son of an orthopedic surgeon and a four-star recruit out of Starkville (Miss.) High School, Altmyer felt compelled to transfer out of Ole Miss after losing an offseason competition to Jaxson Dart. Then, despite thriving at Illinois, he went undrafted.
Transferring and getting overlooked, it’s an increasingly common story in training camps around the NFL. It’s part of Priestly’s story, too. But it’s a small part, overshadowed by enough personal tragedy to break the spirit of a normal man.