The Detroit Lions will start training camp on Sunday, July 19th, earlier than most NFL teams due to their participation in the Hall of Fame game.
The Lions rookies will report on July 16th, while veterans will report three days later on July 19th.
The Detroit Lions will become the second NFL team to open training camp when they hold their first practice of the summer Sunday in Allen Park.
The Lions’ earlier-than-usual start to the season is a direct result of playing in the Hall of Fame preseason game July 31 as part of enshrinement week. Their opponent in that game, the Los Angeles Chargers, is scheduled to hold their first practice of summer July 17, after rookies reported the 12th and with veterans due in camp the 16th.
Espen McIntosh, 10, of Monroe, screams with excitement after getting an autograph from DL Aidan Hutchinson after the Detroit Lions training camp at their training facility in Allen Park, Mich. on Monday, July 29, 2024.
Lions coach Dan Campbell explained his team’s training camp schedule during Organized Team Activities in May.
Lions rookies report July 16, three days before most veterans.
Veterans for most NFL teams report July 22, 47 days before their regular season opener
The Lions cut short their offseason program this spring, eliminating three days of mandatory minicamp after they were selected for the Hall of Fame game. Previously, Campbell had decided to trim his OTA schedule because of the calendar.
The Lions held just two of their four allotted weeks of OTAs and used a third week in mid-June for part of their rookie orientation program.
Nineteen of the league’s 32 teams eliminated at least one week of OTAs this year.
“It was a double whammy,” Campbell said. “For whatever reason, the league year started one (week) later than it normally does and that, and then we have the Hall of Fame game so the combination of those, you bleed the offseason into this and then you bring them back a week early, it just didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel it was fair to our players.
“So to me it’s like, look, we’re going to cut this (offseason program) three days short so that you come in three days early, that’s how we’re handling it.
And so we really didn’t lose any time, it just means that we got to be on it in training camp and we got to get a lot of guys ready to play quickly in a Hall of Fame game. And make sure their bodies are ready to go for an early game, cause there’s going to be a lot of young guys that are going to play a number of reps in that game. And we’ll get them right, we’ll get them ready.”
The Lions are expected to sit most veterans in the Hall of Fame game and likely will use them sparingly if at all in exhibition play the rest of the summer.
The team has two sets of joint practices scheduled during camp, two days with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 13-14 and one day with the Houston Texans on Aug. 21.
They open the regular season Sept. 7 against the Green Bay Packers.
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