Lions Player With Most to Gain at Training Camp

As the NFL season draws nearer, the Detroit Lions enter with lots of questions for how they can return to their dominant form from the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

One element that led to their regression from their own standards in 2025 was the lack of progression from their 2024 draft class, alongside injuries. One player who was affected by both of those factors last year was Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

Rakestraw enters training camp this year with tons to prove, and plenty to gain. The Lions saw a key piece of their secondary depart when Amik Robertson left via free agency. That was compounded when Terrion Arnold was arrested and released earlier in July.

It puts the Lions’ secondary in a precarious condition as training camp is set to begin, as Sports Illustrated’s Eva Geitheim noted.

“With Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph returning from injuries, and Terrion Arnold released after he was arrested on kidnapping and armed robbery charges, the Lions’ secondary is looking thin,” Geitheim wrote. “Statistically, the Lions pass defense wasn’t horrible last season—ranking 21st in passing yards allowed and 14th in EPA per pass—but there were plenty of moments they left more to be desired between their games against the Packers, Giants and Rams. With Arnold’s release and injuries to its two best secondary players, the unit could be at risk of regressing in 2026.”

Now, the former second-round pick enters this year with a chance to claim a spot in the main rotation. Rakestraw saw his season come to an end before it even began last year, as an injury put the Missouri product out for the season in training camp.

This occurred after injuries limited the highly-touted prospect to just eight games his rookie year.

Entering 2026, Rakestraw gets an easier shot to crack the lineup than the original outlook showed. His competition will be Rock Ya-Sin on the outside and Roger McCreary at nickel. The Lions also added Keith Abney II in the fifth round of this past April’s draft.

Outside of Ya-Sin, Rakestraw has the distinct advantage of offseasons worth of work with Motown, giving him a leg up over McCreary. The former Titans corner saw less of the field each season in Nashville, but now is poised for greater responsibility in Detroit.

Rakestraw enters training camp as a wild card, as the last time he saw game action came in 2024 and with limited returns.

Now, with a year of sitting out, he’s had ample time to recover and fully grasp the playbook. The defensive back has attacked recovery, and he will be a player to monitor.

Rakestraw enters training camp with nothing to lose, and everything to gain. The wild card of training camp resides in Kelvin Sheppard’s defensive backs room.

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