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    • Lions preseason: Whose stocks are rising and whose are falling after the 14-3 loss to the Giants
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    Lions preseason: Whose stocks are rising and whose are falling after the 14-3 loss to the Giants

    Seren Anwen Posted on

    EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The Detroit Lions were back on Thursday night. Sort of.

    It was the season opener – a time for the starters to rest, the young players to play and cash in. After a good week of work for the key players on Monday and Tuesday, Thursday night’s contest was an opportunity for Dan Campbell and his team to evaluate the backend position of his roster.

    The end result? A 14-3 defeat. Certainly insignificant, but not meaningless.

    “As always, you gather a lot of information in these preseason games and this was the first one,” Campbell said. “… You want to see how they react in a game like this. So I would say we learned a lot about some guys. … It certainly wasn’t our best performance, but man, there were some guys there and that’s going to be great video for us to evaluate.”

    Let’s talk about a few standout players and how they fit into the squad calculations.

    Stock up

    WR Isaiah Williams: The first player Dan Campbell named when asked for his list of standouts after the game? UDFA WR Isaiah Williams. You wouldn’t expect it to be a receiver considering the Lions’ quarterbacks combined for 110 passing yards, but Williams made the most of his snaps, hauling in a team-leading four receptions (on four targets) for 34 yards. It might be tough for him to make the 53-man roster, but the Lions seem to want to let things run their course at the receiver position. At the very least, there’s definitely room on the practice squad.

    “Isaiah really came out and played,” Campbell said. “I mean, he made some plays out there, that was clear. That was obvious. He did some really good things. He came out and played.”

    DT Mekhi Wingo: On a replay, Wingo went deep, left Giants guard Jalen Mayfield behind, charged up the field in a hurry, chased down QB Tommy Devito and forced a throw. He earned praise from Campbell after the game. While some late draft picks aren’t necessarily permanent fixtures on the roster, the Lions have typically kept their draft picks, and the decision is all the easier when you make some plays like Wingo did. No surprise, but he’ll be in my initial 53-man projection. Pretty comfortable.

    CB Ennis Rakestraw, Jr.: Lions forward Brandon Joseph is credited with the interception here, but the more impressive play goes to Rakestraw, who blocked his receiver and took him out of the play.

    That wasn’t his only impressive play. In the first quarter, Rakestraw didn’t give much distance to rookie WR Malik Nabers. He then tackled Giants WR Jalin Hyatt on a crosser and didn’t allow a single yard on the play. He battled Hyatt all the way to the sideline and ended up in the field goal at the Detroit sideline. Later in the game, Rakestraw moved inside to the nickel position to show some versatility. Lots of snaps for the rookie, but he looked good out there and earned some praise from his head coach. The Lions seem well-positioned with Terrion Arnold and Carlton Davis III at outside corner, but I’m curious to see if we’ll see Rakestraw at the nickel position more often given Emmanuel Moseley’s injury.

    RB Sione Vaki: Training camp was a very learning experience for Vaki. And we knew it would be. He’s a guy who only started 53 offensive plays in college, most of that time as a DB. The Lions saw enough in a small sample size to put him there full-time and let him learn on the fly. That shows at times, as Vaki got slammed by the coaches more than once during practice, but you also see glimpses of what he could become with time. On his first run of the game, Vaki got a handoff from Nate Sudfeld for nine yards. His next run was 15 yards, showing impressive agility. Then four yards, and he made something out of nothing. He finished the game with 29 yards on four carries behind Detroit’s second offensive line. Positive yards for an inexperienced but talented running back, and a positive start to his career.

    KJake Bates: It was a tumultuous start for the Jake Bates Experience. The strong-legged kicker would have had to show some consistency to beat Michael Badgley – a proven NFL kicker – and then Badgley went down, clearing the way for Bates to run away with the job. That didn’t really happen.

    Bates has been a gamble in training camp, literally. At the last practice before the team left for New York, I think Bates made 7 of 12 attempts. At Tuesday’s joint practice, I think he made 6 of 9. In some ways, the Lions may have been pushing him hard on purpose to see how he handled things. But even so, the results have been mixed at best.

    However, it was left to Bates to make an impressive impression when the lights came on.

    In the first quarter, Bates managed a 53-yard kick in an outdoor stadium in light rain. Sure, it’s the preseason, but that’s a kick the Lions have rarely trusted Badgley to make. If Bates can build on that, the Lions may not need any more competition.

    Inventory is decreasing

    QB Nate Sudfeld: Tough night for Sudfeld, who got to start ahead of Hendon Hooker in the battle for QB2. The offense struggled to move the ball when he was in the game, and he managed just 96 yards on 13 of 24 attempts, with one interception. Granted, some context is needed. Detroit’s reserve offensive line did him no favors. It felt like he was under pressure on every dropback or throwing from a tight pocket. But as Campbell put it, “There are some decisions I wish he could make better, and I expect more from him. … I’m not too worried about accuracy right now, wet ball, this and that, but there are just – there are some decisions I know he can make better.”

    DB Morris Norris: The good news? Norris started at safety alongside Brandon Joseph. It feels like he’s waiting for a spot on the roster as the fourth safety, and he certainly helped himself with his good practice on Monday. However, sometimes you have to trust safeties to be the last line of defense, and when Giants RB Eric Gray broke into the second level, Norris sat on the turf and watched him run for a 48-yard touchdown. Norris also allowed an 18-yard pass from TE Tyree Jackson that set up Gray’s second touchdown of the night. To make matters worse, he’s also dealing with a new hamstring injury. A bit of a step back just as he was starting to really take off.

    RT Colby Sorsdal: The Lions have used Sorsdal at right tackle for most of the spring after using him primarily at guard as a rookie. It’s always good to cross-train young players – especially reserves – so you can get the most out of your roster and see what they can and can’t do. It’s probably too early to say Sorsdal isn’t suited up as a tackle, but right now he’s expected to be the first man on the bench if Taylor Decker or Penei Sewell get injured, and he didn’t have his best game against the Giants’ reserves.

    OL Giovanni Manu: Detroit’s fourth-round pick isn’t ready for the NFL. He just isn’t. And that’s OK. We knew there would be a long learning curve and that his athletic ability was the reason he was drafted where he was and the reason the Lions gave up what they did (a 2025 third-round pick). But at this point, he’s just not an NFL player. He’ll make the roster because you can’t take the risk of putting him on the practice squad, but it’ll be a redshirt year for him. Maybe two.

    Stock loss due to injuries: When you play in a preseason game, most of the time it’s either about gaining experience or supporting your family. It’s unfortunate when a player misses a game because it limits his chances of doing both. Campbell had a pretty long injury list after the game.

    • QB Hendon Hooker, playing his first game at the NFL level, left the field after just two drives and is in concussion protocol, according to Campbell. On a 16-yard run, Hooker threw a punch at a Giants defender and Campbell said he “rang the bell.” He played better than Sudfeld after waiting an entire half for his chance to throw. We’ll see how long he’s out, but if it’s short, he’ll lose some valuable reps.
    • WR Antoine Green is also struggling with a concussion.
    • Replacement tackle Connor Galvin was carried off the field due to a knee injury.
    • Reserve defensive lineman David Bada suffered an Achilles tendon injury.
    • James Houston is battling a knee/bone bruise.
    • Norris suffered a thigh injury.
    • Edge rusher Nate Lynn had to leave the field due to a shoulder injury.
    • Only Bada and Galvin’s injuries were more serious, Campbell said.

    These players could have used the time to impress the coaching staff. We will see how long they will be out.

    (Top photo of Isaiah Williams: Ed Mulholland / Getty Images)

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    Seren Anwen
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