Seth McLaughlin tore his Achilles tendon in practice days before Ohio State’s top-five showdown with Indiana late in the 2024 season.
Doctors cleared McLaughlin to return to football activities in eight months, but it wasn’t until last November – about a year removed from the injury when he was languishing on the practice squad with the Cincinnati Bengals – that Cade Mays’ temporary replacement felt close to himself again.
The Detroit Lions signed McLaughlin to a futures deal this offseason, and the second-year lineman was thrust into the spotlight at practice Monday, Aug. 10, when he took every first-team rep at center one day after Mays suffered a serious wrist injury that will sideline him into the regular season.
“Seth and I, I don’t know if we had a rep together until today,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “But yeah, he did a good job, man. He really did. He stepped in there, he was a good authority with his calls, he was sharp. He was decisive. I think that’s all you can ask for.”
McLaughlin, who opened camp as the Lions’ third-string center – backup Juice Scruggs missed his fourth straight practice Monday with a soft-tissue injury – had an admittedly up-and-down day in a practice that was heavy on team work.
Tyleik Williams, McLaughlin’s old teammate at Ohio State, beat McLaughlin cleanly to blow up two runs by Jahmyr Gibbs early in practice, but McLaughlin was mostly solid in pass protection and said he felt comfortable in the huddle and handling Goff’s cadences.
“There were good plays, bad plays, plays you want back,” he said. “It was really just getting the first one under my belt and keep going and getting better. There’s definitely a lot of stuff to clean up and there’s a lot of good stuff out there.”
McLaughlin said he only spoke briefly with Mays after learning about his injury, and said this isn’t the way he wanted to ascend to the first team.
But 21 months after his own injury nearly derailed his career, he said he’s out to make the most of what he called an “exciting” opportunity as the Lions’ likely starting center in their preseason opener Thursday, Aug. 13, against his old team the Bengals.
“I feel bad for Cade, that sucks,” McLaughlin said. “Freak thing. Happy to get the reps and happy to get better, especially going against our defense.”
Here are more observations from Monday’s practice:
Defense keeps cooking
The Lions’ defense had another solid day in team drills Monday, intercepting three passes including one by Nick Whiteside off Goff. Whiteside’s interception came on a tipped pass by Chuck Clark and was his second of camp as he continues to push for a roster spot. Whiteside and Rock Ya-Sin took most of the first-team reps at cornerback, with Ennis Rakestraw Jr. also working in the mix.
Clark also had an interception, though I didn’t count that among the defense’s three takeaways. His pick came on a third-and-3 throw by Goff – all distances are approximate as this wasn’t a play-it-as-it-lies scrimmage – when Aidan Hutchinson beat Blake Miller for a would-be sack before Goff got rid of the ball.
The two best picks of the day came by the Lions’ second-team defense against backup quarterback Luke Altmyer. Dan Jackson made a diving interception on a throw to Tay Martin early in practice, and Christian Izien made a nice play a few periods later when he lined up a few yards behind Levi Onwuzurike off the line of scrimmage and dropped into coverage to nab a slant pass to Dominic Lovett.
Altmyer did not appear to see Izien on the play.
Izien also took reps at safety Monday as Avonte Maddox did not take part in team drills, though Thomas Harper got most of the work with the first-team defense.
Is that a Digg?
It was interesting the secondary’s big day came one day after the Lions worked out former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Campbell was asked about that workout and the Lions’ cornerback room before camp, and doubled down on how optimistic he is about a group that’s played most of the week without starter D.J. Reed.
“It’s a good group,” Campbell said. “I feel like Rock’s having a good camp. I feel like Nick’s had a very good camp. Roger [McCreary] can cover. He’s had some ups and downs, but he can cover. We got [Khalil Dorsey and Keith Abney]. And Rakestraw, look, he’s had some ups and downs. He needs to string a few days together here of some good stuff, but he can do that and he’s gifted.
“Now that being said, look, we’re always looking to upgrade the competition. Is there a way to bring in somebody that we feel like can push the other guys or has a chance to help us? So, that’s why we brought him in.”
The secondary nearly got a fourth takeaway Monday when Rakestraw punched a fumble loose from Tom Kennedy, but Altmyer fell on the ball for a recovery.
And Reed appears to be closing in on a return as he spent part of practice working on the side with trainers.
Former All-Pro fitting right in
Devin White continues to take first-team reps at weakside linebacker with Malcolm Rodriguez nursing an ankle injury and might be doing enough to keep the job when Rodriguez returns.
White got beat badly in coverage for a touchdown by Brock Wright when he bit on a run-action to Jacob Saylors fake in one red-zone period Monday, but he also had a pass breakup in the end zone on a goal-line throw to Sam LaPorta and he continues to be active in the run game.
The Lions have an interesting battle shaping up for roster spots at linebacker, where White, Rodriguez and starters Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes appear to be locks for jobs. Trevor Nowaske adds a pass-rushing element to the position, Damone Clark, Troy Reader and Joe Bachie have value on special teams and Erick Hunter – who had a big hit to dislodge a pass from Jackson Meeks on Thursday – is worth a developmental spot on practice squad as an undrafted rookie.
That’s not even including fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder, who looks like he’ll start the season on injured reserve.
Love him when he’s on your team, but if he’s not …
Ahmed Hassanein can get under his teammates’ skin with his trash-talking and non-stop motor, but it’s easy to see why players love him, too.
Hassanein and tight end Thomas Gordon had two competitive reps in a special teams period Monday designed to see how well players could hold and get off blocks in the middle of the field. Hassanein locked up Gordon in their first rep and told him about it afterward. Gordon did the same to Hassanein in their second rep.
After the second play, Hassanein went over to Gordon on the sideline, shook his hand gave him a friendly helmet bump as if to say, “Great work.”
“It’s competition,” Hassanein said. “It’s going out there and just competing and talking smack. And that’s what truly gets you better. I’m just not going out there just to do a drill.”
The Lions closed practice, as usual, with a bit of situational football. In this period, Goff and the first-team offense led, 23-20, with 1:53 on the clock and the ball first-and-10 at their own 48. The defense had two timeouts and was trying to get the ball back with enough time to mount a game-tying drive.
Tyleik Williams made a nice play to stuff a first down run by Jacob Saylors for a short loss, slipping a block from Tate Ratledge to get in the backfield. After a timeout, Goff hit a bomb to Jameson Williams against Ya-Sin on a free play after Alim McNeill lined up offsides.
The pass was perfect, and it didn’t matter that Ya-Sin hauled Williams down at the 1-yard line because Goff took a couple knees to run out the clock.
A couple last notes:
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions observations: How O-line looked without Cade Mays after injury
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
