Dan Campbell said the Detroit Lions will “play a significant amount of starters” in their second preseason game, set for Saturday (noon, WJBK-TV) against the Washington Commanders at Ford Field.
“That’s my plan right now,” the Lions coach told reporters Monday, Aug. 17.
But Campbell also said “not everybody will play.”
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Back in March, Campbell first mentioned he was considering giving the Lions' veteran starters snaps in the preseason – something he refrained from doing each of the past three years. He raised the possibility because the Lions had decided against holding joint practices this training camp.
Several projected starters, including rookie right tackle Blake Miller, left guard Christian Mahogany and receiver Isaac TeSlaa, already saw action in the Lions’ loss to Cincinnati on Thursday. The question is whether some of the team’s biggest stars, such as quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Jack Campbell, will be in the lineup the Lions coach rolls out Saturday.
Dan Campbell left his audience in suspense, choosing not to go into detail about his plan.
When a reporter suggested that he could tell the fans all the details, he laughed.
“Not yet,” he said.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Significant amount of starters' to play Saturday for Lions, Dan Campbell says