Detroit Lions DT Returns To Thursday Practice

The Detroit Lions returned to the practice field on Thursday afternoon to continue their preparation for the New York Jets.

After missing practice on Wednesday to address a personal matter, defensive tackle Alim McNeill returned on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Dan Campbell indicated the team was seeking to continuously monitor McNeill's playing time, as he has played 149 snaps through the first two weeks of the regular season.

"I think those first two games, man, you’ve got the first one, you go into overtime, and then the second one's on a short week. And his backup right now is (Skyler Gill-Howard) Sky, who's a young player who's ascending," said Campbell. "And so, the more he grows, the more he'll play and not just normal downs. So, there's some of that and no different than the other guy. We’ve got Derrick Moore, and we've got (Eric) O'Neill.

"As they continue to grow, the more they'll get reps for Hutch and for (D.J.) Wonnum," Campbell added. "And so that's where we're getting to and what we're working through. So no, ideally, we don't want them out there that much just to keep them as fresh as you can, but also use them, maximize what Mac and Hutch can do.”

Not spotted at practice, during the portion open to the media, was safety Thomas Harper and offensive lineman Ben Bartch, according to league sources.

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Message to frustrated fans

Both quarterback Jared Goff and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson provided their message to frustrated fans, when asked by 97.1 The Ticket to address the growing angst after the loss to the Bills on Thursday Night Football.

"I got a lot of faith in Shep and Dan. The NFL is a week-to-week business, man. You can be praised one week and the next week people are asking for you to be fired," said Hutchinson. "And I understand the volatility that this business comes with, individually and as a defense. I just know we stay in our bubble, we do what needs to be done, we make slight changes here and there, and we’ll be back for sure."

The veteran signal-caller credited the Bills for being a good football team and did not feel the need to defend anything happening internally with the Lions.

"Listen, we lost by 10 and had some chances to stay in that game and didn’t do it," Goff said. "That’s a good team, we lost, they got us, we move on to the next one. And to be honest. I really don’t feel like I have to defend anything we’re doing internally. We’ve got a lot of season in front of us, and a lot of work to do, certainly, but we feel just fine."

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