ALLEN PARK -- Tim Patrick was back at Detroit Lions practice doing full team drills for the first time in about two weeks.
The veteran wide receiver admitted he had a frustrating start to camp the last time he spoke with reporters. This was his first training camp in a couple of years after missing back-to-back years due to ACL and Achilles injuries while with the Denver Broncos. And the Lions go hard, and it takes a minute to get used to, no doubt.
But Monday’s indoor, lighter practice was Patrick’s first action back in a minute from an undisclosed injury. Patrick’s standout moment came when quarterback Hendon Hooker threw a 50-50 ball, with the veteran making the one-handed over-the-shoulder catch. It was a 20-yard touchdown off the fade corner route into the back of the end zone, with cornerback Tyson Russell in coverage.
Hooker went back Patrick’s way on nearly an identical look, but the tight coverage won this time. Still, it was a pair of nice throws from the struggling quarterback to give the physical wideout a chance.
Lions coach Dan Campbell has defended Patrick, saying he’s too hard on himself. And the veteran wideout remained hard on himself after his return.
“It’s my first day back, so frustration is definitely still there,” Patrick said. “But I’m just happy to be on the field, man. Just get out there and show a little something, and just get healthy. That’s the most important thing -- get healthy and let the cards lie wherever they may lie.
“I’ll give (return practice) it a C-plus. I think it was good enough. But this offense is based on details. And I feel like I was lacking a lot of details today.”
When asked if he got both feet down on his contested touchdown catch, Patrick laughed and said, “Come on, man, got the toe tap.”
Patrick is in an interesting situation after missing time and having a tough start to camp. Rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa has been a breakout player through camp and the preseason.
The first-team reps TeSlaa needs haven’t come in bunches just yet. He needs more work with quarterback Jared Goff at this point. This week’s joint practices with the Houston Texans would be a nice chance to kick those tires if the Lions choose.
“He continues to improve for a young guy,” Campbell said of TeSlaa on Monday. “He just keeps growing, and the more that he proves that he can do some things for us, the more opportunities he’s going to get to be with Goff. And like I say, at some point we’re going to need him, whether it’s early, it’s late, whatever that is.
“We’re beginning to see he might be able to do some things for us on offense. We feel like he can do some things on special teams, which means he’s going into the game, we feel like.”
See below for some lighter observations from Monday’s indoor practice:
-- The Lions went without pads on Monday, heading inside for the first training camp practice I can remember in my now seven seasons on the beat. They went through individual and group drills for longer than usual, with some of the main highlights in who was back and who was still sitting out.
-- There were no real surprises in terms of today’s attendance. Malik Taylor, the Flint native and former Ferris State standout receiver, was not spotted.
-- Tight end Sam LaPorta (undisclosed) was not dressed for practice, watching from the sideline in street clothes. Campbell has said LaPorta would be down for a little bit, while there aren’t any long-term concerns about his availability.
-- All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph was also not practicing. Campbell said they are letting his knee “calm down” and will take it easy with the ball-hawking playmaker. Everyone else not an injured list was out there on the indoor practice field.
-- Khalil Dorsey made his return to practice for the first time since last December. The cornerback and special teams ace suffered a lower leg fracture against the Buffalo Bills in mid-December last year.
Dorsey was limited to the extended individual and positional drills before the Lions worked in some light full-team work. Campbell said they hope to get him involved in those team drills before the end of the week, and that he’s not sure if that means Dorsey will play in the preseason finale or not. Dorsey was spotted getting some work in after practice and spoke with reporters after practice.
-- TeSlaa got a couple of first-team reps after Jameson Williams needed a couple of plays off. Williams went down along the sideline and missed a couple of snaps before re-joining the sideline. TeSlaa’s lone target from Goff was an overthrow on a go-route. The TeSlaa hype is rolling after he caught touchdowns in back-to-back preseason games. He isn’t working with the first-team offense in an extended way just yet. But it feels like those reps will come before too long.
-- Sione Vaki continues to do more and more back in Allen Park. He was at both joint practice sessions against the Miami Dolphins, then ran five times for 30 yards in the preseason game. Vaki also forced a fumble in punt-return coverage, and looks like one of the first options at kick returner heading into his second season. It appears his hamstring issues are a thing of the past, and that’s very good news.
-- The Lions ended practice with an end-of-half situational red-zone drill. There were no timeouts in a 7-7 game with 21 seconds left, with each offense starting from the 17-yard line. The first-team went off the field and did not snap the ball on fourth down after a short pass to Jahmyr Gibbs, a spike, then a toss-up to Williams, with both the receiver and Goff hitting the turf on the ugly final look.
The second-team offense had a couple of incompletions, with the defense lining up in prevent defense to keep them out of the end zone, too.
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