Pride of Detroit
Observations from Day 4 of the Detroit Lions' 2025 training camp include notes on Tate Ratledge, Erick Hallett, and turnovers.
After a day off following three straight practices, the Detroit Lions returned to the practice field on Thursday for Day 4 of their 2025 training camp. Despite having an intense practice before the break, the Lions returned with the same level of intensity to begin the next set of three practices. Thankfully, the Lions will don pads on Friday, then welcome select season ticket holders on Saturday—so don’t expect the intensity to settle down much over the next few days.
The Lions were able to remove cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver from the NFI list on Thursday, as well as return defensive tackle Brodric Martin from injury. Unfortunately, starting corner Terrion Arnold (calf strain) and starting linebacker Derrick Barnes (hand) left practice early. The Lions are expected to take it slow with Arnold, but Barnes is reportedly expected to “be fine.”
On Tuesday, coach Dan Campbell stopped practice and cautioned his players to dial back their aggressiveness, but eventually needed to shut down a drill early and remove Morice Norris from practice. Norris returned to the practice field on Thursday and went right back to his safety role without incident.
However, there was some chippiness amongst the rest of the team on Thursday, as several scuffles broke out during the first 11-on-11 drill. The players mainly policed themselves and quickly squashed the scuffles, but after the fourth incident in roughly 10 minutes of play, Campbell once again stopped practice to refocus the players. For the most part, this marked the end of pushing the envelope for the players, although it's clear they’re eager for the pads to come on.
After three days of starting rookie Tate Ratledge at center, the Lions decided to change things up on Thursday by shifting him to right guard and sliding Graham Glasgow to center. Here’s a look at the starting offensive line on Day 4:
LT Dan Skipper
LG Christian Mahogany
C Graham Glasgow
RG Tate Ratledge
RT Penei Sewell
After practice, Tate spoke with the media about the differences between playing center and guard and the adjustments he’s needed to make.
“Definitely mental,” Tate explained. “To me, offensive line play is offensive line play. I mean, it’s, of course, like I said, it’s quicker. Everything happens quicker. But yeah, the mental side of it’s definitely the hardest part. Getting everybody on the same page.”
“At guard, you got a little bit of a delay being off the ball,” Tate continued. “And then of course you get up here and you’re going against quicker guys than I’ve seen before. So, I think that was the biggest adjustment (to playing center), just how fast everything happens.”
For the most part, it’s difficult to properly evaluate an offensive lineman without pads on, but it’s worth pointing out that, amongst the starters, Sewell has looked very sharp in his movement,...
