Where's Levi? Lions Still Trying to Launch Onwuzurike

Levi Onwuzurike was all smiles and fun-loving boasts when the Detroit Lions drafted him in April in the second round with the 41st overall selection.

In a rather colorful oratory, the former University of Washington defensive tackle spoke about bleeping-up offenses and being an immediate disruptor.

After all, he hadn't played in a football game since the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, now 21 months ago, and he was raring to go.

Onwuzurike further enjoyed himself as he posed for photos in May while signing his four-year $8.1 million contract, a pro at last.

A not-so-funny thing has happened to the one-time Husky stalwart — he hasn't been able to get on the practice field and stay long for the Lions in training camp. Until recently, the team had not explained his whereabouts.

The 6-foot-3, 293-pound Onwuzurike from Allen, Texas, has back issues, dating back to his UW days.

The Lions have sent him to a couple of back specialists to see if they can jumpstart his pro football career.

New Detroit coach Dan Campbell this week tried to sound cautiously optimistic about his second-round draft pick who brings a lot of promise to a franchise trying to do a complete rebuild.

"Look, you’re always going to have some type of concern, but I would say, man, he’s young, he’s hungry, he works," Campbell said. "I think we’ve got good people around him to help him. I think that we know what we’re looking at now cause we’ve sent him to a couple of places and I think he’ll be just fine. I think, like, you can’t worry about it. I think he’ll be OK, and that’s what we wanted clarity on. We think this will be fine and we’re ready to put him back into practice next week and let him go."

Meantime, Onwuzurike missed Friday night's exhibition opener against Buffalo and will provide no help right away as the Lions prepare for their preseason exhibition opener.

Getting the rookie back, however, and get him NFL ready is a team priority.

Defensive line coach Todd Wash told reporters that Onwuzurike has some catching up to do physically, and will require increased work on his fundamentals because of his size and stature.

"His football intelligence is really good. Where he’s lacking stuff is just the reps on the field," Wash said. "He’s a big, tall individual, a little bit long. Pad level’s going to be an issue for him, and we’ve got to continue to work that. But, he’s got to get healthy first."

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