Winners and Losers From Day 10 of 2026 Detroit Lions Training Camp

The Detroit Lions returned to the practice field with another padded session on Monday.

Detroit is making its preparations for its first preseason game of the 2026 slate, as they will take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the opener. While many starters aren't expected to play, the Lions are going to get first-round pick Blake Miller some action in the matchup.

With that in mind, the Lions conducted a contact practice Monday that had officials present.

"We're back in pads today. We've got the officials out there," coach Dan Campbell said. "It'll be good. It'll be competitive, get these guys going again and try to get better today."

Here are winners and losers, as well as what we're learning, from day 10 of Detroit Lions training camp with insights provided by the team website.

Attendance report

The big news of the day came before practice, when Campbell announced that the Lions would be without center Cade Mays for a significant amount of time due to a wrist injury. With Juice Scruggs also sidelined due to a soft-tissue injury, Seth McLaughlin handled the Lions' first team center duties.

Additionally, Campbell noted that Isiah Pacheco has an MCL sprain. Pacheco is expected to be ready for the preseason, but with he and Sione Vaki both sidelined there are opportunities available for players like Jabari Small and Jacob Saylors.

The Lions were reportedly still without D.J. Reed (groin), Sione Vaki (eye/broken nose), Payton Turner (back), Jimmy Rolder (hamstring), Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee). Wide rceeiver Greg Dortch and linebacker Damone Clark also didn't practice for undisclosed reasons.

Defensive end Derrick Moore and defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina were both out, and Keanaaina was placed on injured reserve following practice. Also out was safety Avonte Maddox. With Joseph and Branch both on PUP, Maddox's absence left the Lions further depleted at safety.

On a brighter note, the Lions did get wide receiver Cederick Wilson Jr. and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo back into action.

New center

It was mostly McLaughlin's show as the center for the Lions' offense on Monday. He handled the first team duties, while veteran Michael Niese was with the second team. McLaughlin reportedly handled the duties well, minimizing hiccups and going about his business at a high level.

Time will tell how long of an opportunity McLaughlin gets, as Scruggs is expected to compete for the job once he returns from injury. However, McLaughlin does come with some acclaim as the Rimington Award winner in 2024, and could prove himself worthy of a job with a strong showing in practices and preseason games.

With the second team offense, Niese had a mishap that led to a fumbled snap by Luke Altmyer. Niese has some experience on the Lions' active roster, and has the interior versatility that could make him an asset.

Hassanein's surge continues

The Lions have to be pleasantly surprised with the emergence of Ahmed Hassanein. The Boise State product has produced day in and day out, seemingly making big plays every day. He's also ratcheted up the performance since padded practices began, which is exactly what the Lions have wanted to see.

On Monday, Hassanein had a sack and a tackle for loss during a team period. He also threw up in the end zone at the conclusion of another drill, according to reports, then let out what is becoming one of his trademark screams after fans reacted in support of him.

Takeaway day

It was a sloppy effort at times for the Lions' offense, as they were turnover prone throughout.

Both Jared Goff and Luke Altmyer had bouts of turnovers. Goff tried to extend a play that likely would've been a sack, and paid for it as his pass was deflected and picked off by Chuck Clark. Meanwhile, another safety had a tone-setting play as Dan Jackson secured an interception off of Altmyer.

Christian Izien would add to his tally of takeaways later in practice with a pick off of Altmyer, while Nick Whiteside continues to pop on a daily basis. Whiteside got the best of Goff, hauling in an interception off a deflection.

Running backs emerging

The opportunities in Detroit's backfield are available for the taking, and Small and Saylors appear to be taking advantage. With Pacheco, Vaki and Jahmyr Gibbs all sidelined for portions of camp, practices have been a showcase of the team's depth at times.

Now that Gibbs is back after getting his contract signed, there are less first team opportunities but still plenty of action to go around for Detroit's running backs.

Campbell discussed both Small and Saylors' performance throughout camp during his media session Monday, and had positive reviews for both players. Both players have shown special teams value, which could be of huge value for their chances of making the roster.

McCreary rebounds

Roger McCreary has had a tough time standing out in a positive way throughout camp, as the free agent has struggled. However, reports indicate that Monday was a better day for the veteran.

Among his highlight moments were a nice coverage rep against Amon-Ra St. Brown and forcing Gibbs to the sideline with a good pursuit angle on a run play.

Red-zone work

The offense and defense traded blows during the red-zone period. There were some big plays on both sides, with linebacker Erick Hunter reportedly delivering one of the biggest hits of the day on tight end Jackson Meeks.

Hunter continues to make his case for a roster spot. Meanwhile, the Lions' offense had some strong moments as Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brock Wright all had touchdown catches. Jacob Saylors had a rushing touchdown, while Altmyer also reached the end zone on a read-option.

Jamo's exclamation point

To close out practice, the Lions put their offense in a situational drill designed to test their ability to kill the clock.

However, instead of simply running out the clock, the Lions ended up putting a bow on their day offensively with a big play. Goff went play-action, and hit Jameson Williams for a huge gain to end the day. Williams simply outran veteran Rock Ya-Sin, and went down at the 1-yard line to keep the clock moving.

This catch set up the offense taking a knee to finish the day.

Quick hitters

1.) Newly signed quarterback Josh Dobbs was mostly limited in Monday's practice. He was observed throwing in early drills, but didn't take any team reps. It remains to be seen whether he'll have a role, and if so how significant, in their preseason opener on Thursday.

2.) Christian Mahogany continues to dominate the rep count at left guard with Scruggs out. Ben Bartch has also been limited throughout camp, and as a result Mahogany seems to be trending up early in camp.

3.) Former Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie showed up with some productive plays. He had a deflection at the line of scrimmage on a blitz, and almost logged an interception on a swing pass.

4.) Jake Bates went 6-of-8 on field goal attempts. He had a long of 54 yards, but missed wide right from 51 and wide left from 47 yards out.

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