Inside Allen Park: Levi Onwuzurike Will 'Start Rolling' This Week

The Detroit Lions will start to acclimate their 2021 second-round draft pick into training camp this week.

Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike has been mostly limited at his first NFL training camp, but will ramp up his workload throughout the week.

Last week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell noted that Onwuzurike had seen specialists to address his back ailments.

"I mean, he’s hungry. He’s mad at us that we sent him to somewhere else. He wants to practice, man," Campbell said. "And, you love that about him. But, also, hey, let’s take it as it comes, and when he’s ready, he’s ready. If he’s not, he’s not. That’s all right, too, right now."

Onwuzurike, along with rookie nose tackle Alim McNeill, is expected to contribute to Detroit's ailing defensive line.

"He will get in a couple of team reps, and then, we’ll start to progress him," Campbell said in his pre-practice media session Monday. "So, hopefully, then tomorrow, he gets a little bit more, and we’re on the up and up. So, this is kind of the week we were waiting on Levi to start rolling here. Everything checked out, so it’s time to get him his work."

General observations from Monday's practice

Wide receivers Damion Ratley and Chad Hansen were limited at practice. Quintez Cephus returned to action, and participated in team activities.
Cornerback Corn Elder was limited at practice.
Quarterback Tim Boyle was not available for practice, as he was dealing with an ankle injury.
Tight end T.J. Hockenson, offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby and linebacker Shaun Dion-Hamilton were not spotted at practice.
It was a shaky day for quarterback Jared Goff, who struggled to consistently connect with his receivers. He almost threw an interception to cornerback AJ Parker. Similar to other training camp practices, he was able to connect with wideouts during seven-on-seven drills, where there is much less pressure coming at him from the defense.
The experiment to convert Godwin Igwebuike to a running back has not gone particularly well, as he had the most noticeable drop at practice.
Tom Kennedy had the other drop, but the pass from backup quarterback David Blough was not particularly well-thrown.
The special teams unit had a gaffe, as Dean Marlowe and Jerry Jacobs collided and tumbled along with others during a return rep.
Randy Bullock had the better day of the two kickers at practice, as Zane Gonzalez had a miss and another of his kicks blocked.
The Lions had another 14-play drive on Monday that did not produce a touchdown. It was largely a series of runs and checkdowns that moved the Lions' offense down the field. Following the game on Friday, Campbell noted the importance of scoring touchdowns. “I'm not going to ever complain about that. That was good, but you can’t always count on an 18-play drive, either," he said. "I think there's something to possessing the ball, but I think that as good as that is, if you're going to possess it for that long, you need to come away with a touchdown, which those things we will talk about."
Cornerback Amani Oruwariye gave up a touchdown in seven-on-seven drills to wideout Quintez Cephus.
Linebacker Derrick Barnes had a pass break-up in coverage against wideout Breshad Perriman.
The Lions announced the following roster moves: running back Michael Warren was officially waived, along with tight end Charlie Taumoepeau. Center Evan Boehm was placed on the reserve/injured list.

Add us as a preferred source on Google