{"id":964319,"date":"2026-08-04T21:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/964319\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T21:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:09:22","slug":"detroit-lions-training-camp-dan-campbell-updates-vaki-injury-gibbs-hold-in-defensive-line-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/964319\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions training camp: Dan Campbell updates Vaki injury, Gibbs hold-in, defensive line progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Detroit Lions<\/a> coach Dan Campbell<\/a> liked what he saw from his defensive line during the team\u2019s first padded practice, but Tuesday\u2019s sixth day of training camp also brought another round of injury updates.<\/p>\n

Campbell said running back Sione Vaki<\/a> will miss time after suffering a broken nose and an eye injury during Monday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those freak things,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cSomehow a hand gets through the face mask. We\u2019re hopeful his vision should be OK. He\u2019s just going to need a minute here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell also announced tight end Anthony Firkser<\/a> has a fractured fibula and will be sidelined, while wide receiver Lawrence Keys<\/a> is dealing with a hamstring injury. <\/p>\n

Tight end Zach Horton<\/a> returned to practice.<\/p>\n

Despite the injuries, Campbell praised the intensity of Detroit\u2019s first practice in pads.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was competitive,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI thought the D-line came off the ball. They looked like they took the sled work to team, and that was good to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lions increased the physicality Monday, and Campbell expects an even more competitive session as the offense adjusts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you put the pads on, it makes it real,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cYou think you\u2019re playing low until you\u2019ve got somebody on you. Today you\u2019re going to see guys play lower, and then the D-line\u2019s going to have to get under them. That\u2019s how you get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell said he appreciated the controlled aggression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the violence of it,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI thought they were aggressive, but I thought we were smart too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunity in the backfield<\/p>\n

With star running back Jahmyr Gibbs<\/a> continuing his contract holdout, Campbell said reserve running backs are getting valuable opportunities.<\/p>\n

Jacob Saylors<\/a>, who spent last season learning the offense and contributing on special teams, has stood out early in camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in our system now,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe knows why we\u2019re doing what we\u2019re doing. He looks much more comfortable, and he\u2019s got ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell also praised rookie Jabari Small<\/a> for his work on offense and special teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s low to the ground, strong, quick laterally,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cGuys are going to get a pretty good look here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether Atlanta\u2019s extension for Bijan Robinson could help move Gibbs\u2019 negotiations along, Campbell said he hopes so but isn\u2019t reading too much into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly not going to hurt,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI\u2019m anxious to get Gibbs back out there. Every day that goes by, that\u2019s another day you feel like you miss with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young players making strides<\/p>\n

Campbell singled out second-year offensive lineman Tate Ratledge<\/a> for arriving at camp in excellent condition after a productive offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came back in great shape,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHis attitude is right. You can tell he came in saying, \u2018I want to be much better than I was last year.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran receiver Greg Dortch<\/a> has also impressed Campbell with his movement skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s even better than I thought,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cEvery day he gets a little bit better and learns how we do things.\u201d<\/p>\n

New signee in Super Bowl-winning linebacker Devin White<\/a> flashed during his first padded practice with the defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a couple of \u2018wow\u2019 plays,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe can still run. We just need to keep working him into practice and be smart with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growth expected from Isaac TeSlaa<\/p>\n

Campbell said wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa<\/a>\u2019s development goes beyond making spectacular catches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t just be down the field, one-handed catches,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe\u2019s got to expand his route tree. We think this guy can run the tree, and now it\u2019s about continuing to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell acknowledged TeSlaa is working through the normal adjustments young receivers face with route-running technique but expressed confidence in his progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy works his tail off,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThat\u2019s what practice is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell liked what he saw from his defensive line during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":964320,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[33482,6214,146,113,2506,10350,7,11500,842,17643,49440,1674,126983,147,6,1735,628,41265],"class_list":["post-964319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detroit-lions","tag-anthony-firkser","tag-dan-campbell","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-lions","tag-detroitlions","tag-devin-white","tag-football","tag-greg-dortch","tag-isaac-teslaa","tag-jabari-small","tag-jacob-saylors","tag-jahmyr-gibbs","tag-lawrence-keys","tag-lions","tag-nfl","tag-sione-vaki","tag-tate-ratledge","tag-zach-horton"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117039291663216027","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/964320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}