Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is clearly not a huge fan of offseason OTAs.
Campbell was asked on Friday if any Lions players had stood out during the offseason workouts, which take place without pads. The coach said plenty of players had done well, but it was hard to draw any serious assessments from what he compared to a “pajama party.”
“There’s been a lot of guys who have done well for two days in pajamas,” Campbell said. “There’s some that are learning through it. But I’m done with the hype of the pajama party in May. It’s about the mental, it’s about the movement skills, all that other stuff doesn’t matter. We’ll find out in training camp who’s who.”
#Lions HC Dan Campbell on who has stood out in OTAs (where there are no pads):
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 29, 2026
“There are a lot of guys who have done well for two days in pajamas. … I’m done with the hype of the pajama party in May. We’ll find out in training camp who’s who.”
(🎥 @Lions) pic.twitter.com/mRtlMnLAbN
You would not expect anything else from Campbell. This is, after all, someone who has totally shrugged off the tush push while other teams complain about it.
Ultimately, Campbell is right that no big decisions are likely to be made off the back of OTAs. Training camp is a few months away, and that is when the position battles will really kick into gear. Campbell sounds like he is expecting a lot of them, and he clearly likes that, too.
