Inside Allen Park: T.J. Hockenson, Da'Shawn Hand Leave Practice Early

The Detroit Lions are currently in preparations for their preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills this Friday at Ford Field.

Unfortunately, a handful of players left Tuesday's practice early, after getting banged up.

Defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand, who just recently told reporters he was excited to show he could be a 'bona fide' player, headed to the locker room after suffering a lower body injury.

"I think this year, I'm just clear-headed. I'm not thinking about anything," Hand said Monday. "I'm not thinking about the past. I'm actually reading a new book called 'Mindfulness', and it's teaching me to just stay in the moment. So, I'm just stacking days and enjoying the process. And like I said, I just want to ball."

It was observed that he injured his leg during a one-on-one pass-rushing drill against guard Evan Brown.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson was observed hitting the ground awkwardly with cornerback Jeff Okudah, landing on the second-year defensive back with full force. He was able to walk off on his own, but did not participate in many team drills afterwards.

Near the end of practice, defensive tackle Kevin Strong limped off the field gingerly, as he headed inside the Allen Park practice facility.

The two players who shined at Tuesday's practice were cornerback Amani Oruwariye and defensive end Austin Bryant.

Campbell told reporters on Monday, "Look Amani (Oruwariye), I told Amani this morning, and I’ve got to be careful giving too much sugar, so it doesn’t rot his teeth out. But, he is just kind of quietly different than everybody else, and I mean this in a really good way. He's just coming on. He's just growing, and he is just getting better. And, he's getting more confident. He’s more comfortable. I feel like he's in a really good place right now."

Oruwariye was solid again in coverage, as he held tight coverage the majority of the practice and made it difficult for Jared Goff to consistently complete passes.

Playing with the second-team defense, Bryant was regularly in the backfield, and would have recorded at least three sacks in live action.

hockenson5 — © George Walker IV / Tennessean.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

General observations from Tuesday's training camp practice

Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp and team president Rod Wood were observed on the sideline as practice drew to a close.
The offense was short at running backs, as D'Andre Swift was limited and Michael Warren was unavailable for practice. With Jermar Jefferson being out with an ankle injury, that left Jamaal Williams, Godwin Igwebuike, Dedrick Mills and Jason Cabinda in the backfield for the Lions' offense.
Wideouts Damion Ratley and Quintez Cephus did not participate on Tuesday.
Levi Onwuzurike and Michael Brockers were limited in their participation, as they were mostly observers.
John Penisini, Corn Elder, Michael Warren and Tyrell Crosby did not practice.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jeff Okudah continued their rivalry, as there was a sequence of two reps that were heated and physical. During the first rep, St. Brown engaged with Okudah, and threw him to the ground. The second-year defensive back was visibly frustrated, and the duo battled again. This time, Okudah held on to St. Brown's jersey throughout the duration of the rep, as both stood face-to-face as teammates gathered around them. Lots of pushing and shoving was observed, and teammates had to separate them.
It was a professional day for quarterback Jared Goff. He did not turn the ball over, and had a couple of solid passes against the first-team defense. One of his best tosses was to wideout Kalif Raymond off of play action, but he also overthrew receivers during red-zone drills.
Outside linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard had the line of the day during the post-practice media session. Speaking with reporters, he noted about the defense, "We're not allowing people to dictate to us. We run a dictatorship over here."

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