Dan Campbell Minicamp Press Conferences 2026
Injury updates and upcoming training camp intensity
Two days of minicamp have passed without any major injury surprises or revelations - which is a good thing this time of year. Dan Campbell had some injury updates and general philosophical musings this week in his press conferences.
Here are some of Dan Campbell’s quotes from his two press conferences on June 16 and June 17, 2026, along with my analysis.
Current injury updates
Nobody new.
We got some guys back that were sick - Rock & Rakestraw.
The best news out of minicamp is the lack of any surprise injury news. Even in non-contact practices, injuries like ACL and Achilles can happen. So far, Kendrick Law’s ACL is the only major injury this offseason.
Lions’ roster makeup compared to last season
We’re younger than we were. There’s good things about the youth. And then there’s things we’re going to have to work through.
The roster management theme this offseason has been pretty obvious - the Lions are looking to get younger and healthier in an effort to decrease injuries.
I documented the dramatic changes in the roster in my article, Lions Offseason Health Review: Additions vs Subtractions…
Training camp intensity philosophy
We’re going to push it. That’s what we do. But we’ll do it smart.
There is a chance we play some of these guys in the preseason without joint practices.
We can’t break them in training camp. You can’t let fear of injury scare you away from what you believe in.
There has been debate about the intensity of the Lions’ practices and if it contributes to injury. Campbell implies that not much is going to change as far as training camp intensity. That probably means the Lions will continue to do “live” tackling in camp.
Is training camp intensity going to be a problem? In my Training Camp 2025-2024 Injury Analysis, I found that live tackling in training camp was not a major problem…
Based on my analysis of the past two training camps, Campbell seems on solid ground as far as maintaining the current level of training camp intensity.
Sam LaPorta status
Walk-throughs.
We like where he’s going. He’s trending the right way.
LaPorta is seven months post herniated disc surgery. While it is a bit disappointing that LaPorta was not a full-go in OTA and minicamp, the good news is that there appear to have been no setbacks. His status will be one of the most important to watch during training camp.
Ben Bartch status
We get Bartch back who will be ready to go for training camp.
Batch missed OTA and minicamp in recovery from his Lisfranc surgery in December 2025. Campbell seems confident he’ll be ready by training camp, but Lisfranc’s can have a tricky, uncertain recovery. The left guard position appears to be Christian Mahogany’s to lose, but it’s always good to have competition and quality backups.