Dan Campbell offers a mixed message on Jeff Okudah’s progress
Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah was back out on the practice field Monday after taking the last practice off. The third-year corner is attempting to return from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 1 a year ago after also battling through injuries in his rookie campaign.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said before practice that the team was taking it easy with Okudah while offering an interesting mixed message.
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Campbell said this when asked about Okudah’s progress,
“He looks good. The physical side of everything he’s doing is good. He looks good … we have no concern about the Achilles. Physically he looks great.”
That was immediately followed by this statement,
“He needs reps. He needs to play. That’s the thing to never lose sight of — he’s going into Year 3 and he hasn’t really played.”
It’s an odd admission after giving him a day off while acknowledging he’s got no issues physically or medically. The much-needed reps were there for Okudah to take, but the Lions opted to rest him an extra day.
Okudah looked sharp in practice drills on Monday, including a near-INT in the early team drills where he undercut a swing pass to TE T.J. Hockenson. Campbell’s assessment of Okudah’s physical well-being definitely rings true; you’d never know this was a player coming off a major injury.
