{"id":978664,"date":"2026-08-20T21:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/978664\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T21:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:51:20","slug":"detroit-lions-hc-dan-campbell-updates-laporta-injury-hutchinson-workload-backup-qb-battle-ahead-of-week-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/978664\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell updates LaPorta injury, Hutchinson workload, backup QB battle ahead of Week 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Detroit Lions<\/a> head coach Dan Campbell<\/a> said the competition for the team\u2019s backup quarterback job remains open as the team prepares for its second preseason game.<\/p>\n

Campbell said Joshua Dobbs<\/a> will start the upcoming game, with Luke Altmyer<\/a> also expected to play an equal number of snaps. <\/p>\n

Jared Goff<\/a> will not play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still open,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the Lions are looking for growth as they move from one preseason game to the next, particularly from younger players learning how to respond when the lights come on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just need to feel like things are cleaned up, that you\u2019re not making the same mistake twice,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Dobbs has received fewer practice reps than Altmyer. <\/p>\n

Still, Campbell said that was partly because the veteran quarterback was getting up to speed while the team also wanted to give Altmyer plenty of opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cDobbs is a bright guy. He\u2019s played in this league,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cBut also, man, just making sure we got him up to speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell said Dobbs will get an extended opportunity in the upcoming preseason game.<\/p>\n

Lions managing workloads for key players<\/p>\n

Campbell also said Goff will not play in the game, while the team has not yet finalized whether other starters will see action.<\/p>\n

The Lions are also looking for ways to reduce the workload for some of their defensive stars during the regular season.<\/p>\n

Former Michigan Wolverines<\/a> star Aidan Hutchinson<\/a> played more than 1,000 defensive snaps last season, and Campbell said the team would like to give the Pro Bowl defensive end more opportunities to come off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t get tired. He doesn\u2019t wear down. He just keeps coming,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cBut we also know, man, if we can take some off of him, it\u2019s only going to help, not only now, but long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell said adding players such as fellow Wolverines star Derrick Moore<\/a> and others could give the defensive line more depth and allow Hutchinson occasional breaks.<\/p>\n

D.J. Reed<\/a> has also returned to practice and is working his way back into the rotation.<\/p>\n

Lions evaluating Eric O\u2019Neill<\/p>\n

One player who has caught Campbell\u2019s attention during training camp is defensive lineman Eric O\u2019Neill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Campbell said O\u2019Neill has consistently made plays and has shown versatility as the coaching staff continues to determine where he fits best.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a guy that makes plays every day,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell described O\u2019Neill as smart, crafty, and a player with several tools as a pass rusher. <\/p>\n

He said O\u2019Neill has also made an impact on special teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s intriguing,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cSome of it is really fit, man. Where does he fit?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack Campbell remains key to defense<\/p>\n

Linebacker Jack Campbell<\/a>, who played more than 99% of the Lions\u2019 defensive snaps last season, remains a critical part of the defense.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the linebacker is particularly valuable because of his physicality and ability to handle a heavy workload.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s too valuable,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe just does everything for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lions could reduce some of his special teams responsibilities to preserve him for defense.<\/p>\n

If Campbell were unavailable, the Lions have several players who could take over the defensive communication duties, including Malcolm Rodriguez<\/a> and Derrick Barnes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LaPorta dealing with hip issue<\/p>\n

Tight end Sam LaPorta<\/a> is also dealing with a hip issue after taking a hit in the Lions\u2019 previous game.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the injury flared up but described LaPorta\u2019s outlook as positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a little aggravated, but we feel good long term about him,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cWe\u2019re just resting him for a little bit here and letting it calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell did not rule out the possibility that the injury could affect the start of the regular season but said he expected the team to be OK.<\/p>\n

Offensive line continues to take shape<\/p>\n

Campbell said Juice Scruggs<\/a> is expected to play center in the upcoming preseason game as he continues working with Goff and the rest of the offensive line.<\/p>\n

Scruggs recently returned and is getting additional work at center, where Campbell said he needs to shake off some rust and develop more consistency with the team\u2019s calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime on task,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got time to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell also provided an update on guard Ben Bartch<\/a>, who is in the NFL\u2019s concussion protocol. <\/p>\n

Bartch has missed the last two practices and is competing for the starting left guard job.<\/p>\n

With only a handful of practices remaining, Campbell acknowledged that Bartch\u2019s window to push for the starting role is shrinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is for him to get to where he feels right again,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Lions preparing for Germany<\/p>\n

The Lions will also have an international trip on the horizon this season when they face the New England Patriots in Germany on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the team will begin preparing its game plan before traveling overseas, with the Lions expected to fly that Thursday night for the Sunday game.<\/p>\n

The team will practice after arriving and have some downtime before the game to adjust to its surroundings.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the Lions are excited about playing in Germany and embraced the idea of having international fans behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Germany\u2019s team, too,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cWe\u2019re not just Americans, we\u2019re Germany\u2019s team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lions also have a connection to Germany through wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown<\/a>, whose family has German heritage.<\/p>\n

Campbell said the Lions want to use the game to showcase the NFL and their style of football to German fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to represent, and we want to show you about NFL football and the way that we think it should be played \u2014 and put on a show,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the competition for the team\u2019s backup quarterback…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":978665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[1817,4566,4817,6214,6016,38604,146,113,2506,128256,7,16688,1029,9538,7463,147,28563,6294,71,6,7472],"class_list":["post-978664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-detroit-lions","tag-aidan-hutchinson","tag-amon-ra-st-brown","tag-ben-bartch","tag-dan-campbell","tag-derrick-barnes","tag-derrick-moore","tag-detroit","tag-detroit-lions","tag-detroitlions","tag-eric-oneill","tag-football","tag-jack-campbell","tag-jared-goff","tag-joshua-dobbs","tag-juice-scruggs","tag-lions","tag-luke-altmyer","tag-malcolm-rodriguez","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-nfl","tag-sam-laporta"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117130053786271758","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978664","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=978664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/978665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}