Devin White struggled in the first half of the Lions' loss to the Bills, and was on the bench in the second. In Week 3, he was relegated to the sidelines. The Lions scratched the veteran linebacker against the Jets and gave a much bigger role to Trevor Nowaske, who shined in their 31-24 win.
The veteran White quickly climbed the ladder for the Lions after they signed him early in camp, jumping Malcolm Rodriguez as the starter at the Will linebacker spot. But his role is being scaled back, possibly for the foreseeable future, maybe for good.
Asked Tuesday if White could be inactive moving forward for the Lions, Campbell said, "I think that could trend that way. I mean, look, D-White is still here, and there’s things that Devin does that not everybody can do, and we know that. But right now, if you’re just looking at the totality of defense plus special teams, the six (linebackers) we brought to the game are the ones that we can use the most right now."
Dan Campbell on the progress of the secondary pic.twitter.com/yQeWywxNBa
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In addition to giving Nowaske an expanded role on defense in Week 3, the Lions activated rookie Jimmy Rolder for the first time this season. They also elevated veteran Amen Ogbongbemiga from the practice squad. Rolder and Ogbongbemiga played strictly on special teams, but Rolder could play his way into more snaps on defense.
The Lions liked the way Rolder was trending before he suffered a hamstring injury that cost him most of training camp. The Lions signed White shortly thereafter and quickly involved him as part of their first-team defense. From the looks of it in camp, White, a former star for the Buccaneers who finished third in the NFL in tackles last season with the Raiders, was going to play a prominent role in Detroit's various blitz packages.
But he got most of his snaps in the first two games in run defense and coverage, and struggled in both capacities in Week 2. The defense as a whole had numerous blown coverages and missed assignments in an ugly performance in Buffalo.
The Lions said they were going to make some personnel changes in Week 3. Sitting White, who doesn't play on special teams, was one of them. Utilizing Nowaske was another. Nowaske logged 33 snaps on defense, his most since 2024, mostly in White's role and "really executed at a high level," said Campbell. He also made his usual contributions on special teams.
"Nowaske just does everything right. And he's been doing that now for a while," said Campbell. "Had a really good camp and he's a very disciplined player. He's grown a ton since he's been here and just turned himself into a real solid player. He just does things right, man. You know that whole thing we talk about: be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there. That's exactly him, and he makes plays."
Campbell pointed to a play near the goal-line in the fourth quarter where the Jets ran a toss to running back Breece Hall and Nowaske was with it every step of the way, tackling Hall out of bounds for no gain -- one of four defensive stops he made in the game, per PFF.
"We gave him that rep in practice the other day, coaches did a great job, and I mean, he yawned at it. And then we get in the game, same thing," Campbell said. "He doesn't miss a beat. He's just very disciplined that way, and that's all you want. That's what you're looking for. So he's going to continue to get opportunities because he's earned that. He's a valuable special teams player for us, and there's a role on defense where he can help us."
Giving Rolder opportunities on defense in the weeks ahead could be part of the plan as well.
"I thought Rolder on special teams did a nice job. For somebody who’s never played in the NFL in a real game, to go out there and cut it loose, that was impressive," Campbell said. "Now, it’s gotta stay that way. He’s gotta do it again. But that was good."
Campbell said the Lions are viewing their linebackers like their cornerbacks, after giving Ennis Rakestraw a shot and expanding Roger McCreary's role at the expense of Rock Ya-Sin in Week 3: "We’ll play all those guys."
"We can use all of ‘em, Rodrigo, see if we can get Rolder in a little bit on defense, certainly Nowaske, you got (Derrick) Barnes and Jack (Campbell) who are staples for us, and then we brought Amen for special teams," Campbell said. "But we’re going to use all those guys, wherever we can spread the load, spread reps, as long we trust them in a game. It’ll be good for us."
