Observations: Branch Records Interception, Bridgewater Makes Debut

Detroit Lions Day 14 training camp observations.

The Detroit Lions are now embarking on a new week of training camp, with another team set to visit Allen Park for a series of joint practices. 

While an illness has swept the team over the weekend, a new veteran backup quarterback has the strong potential to alleviate any anxiety regarding who is playing behind Jared Goff. 

Monday marked the practice debut of Teddy Bridgewater, a veteran the coaching staff clamored to add to the roster earlier in camp. 

The experienced passer was brought in to be a steadying presence behind Goff, and has arrived with much fanfare. 

Dan Campbell laid out the plan for the veteran signal-caller moving forward throughout training camp. 

"The plan is, and T.B. (Bridgewater) knows this, let's get him in. He's gonna get some reps today, he's been grinding on the playbook," said Campbell. "Let him go through individual, let him get a few reps and then Jacksonville -- let's get him worked in a little bit. I'm just gonna gauge where he's at, where he feels, what it looks like and then we'll make a determination at the end of the week. But, our plan is to get him going in practice this week." 

He was asked about the potential challenge of getting Bridgewater up to speed quickly, given what he's missed. However, with his level of experience, Campbell has plenty of faith in a quick transition.

"There is a challenge to it, but I think that's, Teddy's a pro, and I go back to this — he's been in every system you can be in. It's all about flipping terminology for him. There won't be one thing he'll be doing with us that he hasn't done with somebody else. It's just the nature of what are we calling it. Where do you want the snap point? Little things like that," Campbell explained. "He'll know the progressions, the reads by coverage. I mean, he's a smart football player. So, there's a challenge to it, but I have a lot of faith in Teddy picking it up. I know him and the mental part of it. He's gonna be on top of it real fast."

Participation

The Lions are currently dealing with an illness that has sidelined multiple players. Among those who missed practice as a result were Brady Breeze and Cam Sutton. 

With Sutton sidelined, Will Harris stepped in to take first-team reps at cornerback. 

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson missed practice as well, while dealing with an ankle injury. Wide receiver Trinity Benson was also inactive. 

Fellow wideouts Maurice Alexander and Denzel Mims were both spotted at practice, but were limited. 

Alexander did not participate in special teams drills, which allowed Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond and Amon-Ra St. Brown to handle kick return duties.

Mohamed Ibrahim was not spotted, while Jermar Jefferson was observed working with trainers. Craig Reynolds was not observed during team periods, as his work was limited to individual periods. 

Observations

1.) In his first pass as a Detroit Lion, Bridgewater connected with Jameson Williams for a 25-yard gain. It is understandable that the veteran was rusty, as he was away from the game following the birth of his child. A couple passes were shaky, including incompletions to Chase Cota and Avery Davis. After practice, Bridgewater and Williams worked on routes and their timing. 

New QB in Detroit Teddy Bridgewater pic.twitter.com/v3vJz8cbhD

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) August 14, 2023

2.) After solid performances in the opener, Romeo and Julian Okwara were rewarded by moving up from the third-team defense. Romeo was observed working with the first-team defense, after recording a sack in the preseason opener. Julian Okwara, who tallied three sacks Friday, saw action with the second-team, while getting limited first-team reps. 

3.) Running back David Montgomery had a strong day at practice. He was impactful in the short-passing game, and consistently broke through the first level of defenders. Each run has purpose, and there does not appear to be wasted movement in the veteran's runs. In a rare live-tackling portion of practice, Montgomery was the featured number called, eventually finding his way into the end zone during red-zone work. 

Jahmyr Gibbs also blew past John Cominsky and Derrick Barnes on his way to the end zone, during red-zone periods. His speed and burst to the end zone can become a weapon, when Detroit's offense is in the red zone in the regular season. 

4.) Rookie Antoine Green, whom the coaching staff had wanted to see more consistency from, broke free in red-zone work, but could not haul in a solid pass from Nate Sudfeld in the end zone. Campbell has expressed that he wants the rookie wideout to be more consistent in his pursuit of a roster spot. The young wideout was visibly upset regarding the incompletion. 

5.) The kickers did not take the field to compete against each other on Day 14. 

6.) Williams did not have any noticeable drops in practice. Goff even connected deep with the speedy wideout, who tracked the football well in individual drills. In team periods, Williams was not targeted that often. Sudfeld attempted one deep pass to the former first-round pick that fell incomplete with Steven Gilmore in coverage. 

7.) Brian Branch alert! Another day of practice, and another special play made by the rookie. In the second offensive possession for the first-team offense, Goff tossed an incomplete pass to Sam LaPorta. Soon after, Gibbs was the intended target, and Branch, who watches an extensive amount of film, sniffed it out instantly, tipped the pass and secured the interception. 

8.) Matt Nelson, who struggled in the preseason opener, was on the receiving end of a touchdown toss. 

9.) Goff was able to find completions deep to Josh Reynolds and St. Brown, who jokingly interrupted the media session of Williams. While doing so, he asked his teammate what it is like to play with a player of St. Brown's caliber. 

10.) The second-and-third-team offense did not fare too well in red-zone work. To end practice, Sudfeld would have taken a significant sack by Will Harris, putting the offense at a disadvantage to start. Martinez also would have taken a sack by Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who burst through the offensive line.