Prior to Wednesday’s training camp practice, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media and he gave an update on rookie DL Levi Onwuzurike‘s back. Campbell noted that the rookie is dealing with some back tightness that goes back to his college days at Washington.
“So we wanted just to get some clarity on where that was at. We’ve sent him around to a couple of specialists—just making sure—and everything seems to be good,” Campbell said. “So we just chose that, let’s just really think about rehab, strengthening, things of that nature this week, and then let’s fire it up next week. So you’ll see him next week is the plan.”
“It hurts a little bit, it does,” Campbell said. “You miss out on a good week, week-and-a-half of some work in pads, but yet I would tell you there’s still time. There’s still time to get him there, and he’ll continue to grow as the season goes. We want him to develop, we want him to come along. That’s the reason we drafted him, but also, I don’t want to be like we’re in a hurry to do something that he’s not ready for either. We’ll take this as it comes, because he’s willing to put the work. It’s nothing like that. He’s hungry. He’s mad at us that we sent him to somewhere else. He wants to practice, man.”
It’s very evident that Campbell and the Lions are not in a hurry to rush anyone dealing with an injury and that is a good thing. Remember, this is a rebuild and it will take time to build a roster that can compete for a Super Bowl.
