LaPorta out, Branch limited for first joint practice with Giants.
The Detroit Lions will be without two of its top second-year players for the first of two joint practices with the New York Giants at the Giants’ practice facility in New Jersey.
Lions coach Dan Campbell announced that tight end Sam LaPorta will miss practice on Monday, while safety Brian Branch will participate in individual and 7-on-7 exercises but not team drills. Campbell believes both guys will be fine in the long run.
“LaPorta’s not gonna practice today and Branch will just get some (individual) and 7-on-7,” Campbell informed the audience. “He won’t get any team reps. But they’ll be alright in the long run, don’t worry.”
Campbell did not provide specifics about LaPorta’s injury, but did say that it occurred during practice at the end of last week. Branch continues to heal from an offseason operation.
‘Tests all over the field’
Last season, the Lions and Giants faced off in a similar environment in Detroit. For the second year in a row, Campbell and Brian Daboll’s team will compete for a full week.
Though the Giants are coming off a poor season, they have a lot of talent to push the Lions. Players like Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux will pose a challenge to the Lions’ renowned offensive line.
“Honesty is everywhere. “These guys have a lot of challenges for us,” Campbell explained. “Between the receiver position and this defensive line, Lawrence is, in my opinion, one of the top players in the game right now, both running and passing. He’s powerful and strong. The edge with Thibodeaux and Burns over there is also fairly thrilling. We have testing all around the field that we are looking into.”
These workouts came after two weeks of the Lions battling solely against one another. After training against the same players day after day, Detroit will face different obstacles across the line of scrimmage.
“This is why you do joint practices, you get a different look,” Campbell went on. “Hutch has been playing against Sewell every day, so you get a different perspective on someone else who has a different style and set, and vice versa on both sides of the ball.” I think it’s significant for all of our guys. I bring up Lawrence again because Frank is about to face a significant difficulty. Frank is looking forward to it. This is huge; you have to compete against top-tier players to improve.”
Daboll is helping the Giants develop a lot of young players. Malik Nabers, a wide receiver, will face Detroit’s new secondary, and the Giants also have several new secondary players.
These young defensive backs, including as second-year corner Deonte Banks and rookie safety Tyler Nubin, will face a difficult but thrilling battle against Lions receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
“It’ll be good to see them against those guys,” Daboll added. “They have amazing talent. They’ve done an excellent job of drafting over the last few years with Brad present. Lots tremendous talent, speed, and quickness. It’s not limited to the receiving position. LaPorta and Gibbs have done an excellent job of bringing in players who have already contributed significantly based on their skill set from college. It has actually moved to the plan, the personnel, and how they use it. This will be a terrific challenge, and when you add the offensive line, which is really the foundation of everything, it’s a darn good offense.”