The Detroit Lions are adding a second joint-practice session to their training camp schedule, The Detroit News has learned.
The Lions will host the Houston Texans for a pair of practices in Allen Park during the buildup to each team’s preseason finale at Ford Field on Aug. 23, one week after hosting the Miami Dolphins ahead of their third preseason game.
Detroit has four preseason games this year because it will participate in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, against the Los Angeles Chargers on July 31.
The Lions have taken part in joint practices during every offseason since 2022. Lions coach Dan Campbell said it’s good to get players in “another environment” and break up the monotony of training camp.
“The intensity goes up, there’s a little bit more pressure because you’re out here with another team, other players, other organization, different fans, and so I think you’ll find out a couple of things about these guys that you might not ordinarily find out until you get into a game,” Campbell said before joint practices against the New York Giants in East Rutherford last year.
“So, it’s just a different way to evaluate, it’s another way, and it breaks up camp, too.”
If last year’s primetime thriller between the Lions and Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston was any indication, when kicker Jake Bates blasted home a 52-yard field goal to give the Lions a 26-23 win as time expired, it should be a treat to watch these teams go at it.
Joseph to serve as grand marshal
Kerby Joseph is off to the races.
Joseph, the Lions veteran who in April became the highest-paid safety in league history, will serve as the grand marshal at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on June 8, according to a post from MIS on Instagram.
Previous Lions to serve as grand marshals in the FireKeepers 400 include former fullback Cory Schlesinger (2023) and former head coach Matt Patricia (2019). Lions president and CEO Rod Wood will serve as the grand marshal at this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, an IndyCar race that will take place on the streets of Detroit.