Seventh overall pick Penei Sewell is expected to be the Lions' starting right tackle this season. He also hasn't played football since the 2019 season at Oregon and just missed his first chance to get on the field with his new team after recently testing positive for COVID-19.
No biggie, says his new head coach. Dan Campbell didn't flinch when asked about the potential setback of Sewell missing rookie minicamp last weekend.
"No setback," Campell said Sunday. "That's not going to hurt whatsoever. He'll be here, we'll get him in probably early this week. He's been in the Zoom meetings, so schematically he's on it and he'll be fine. He'll adjust quickly. It's not going to be any setback whatsoever."
And on the field, it doesn't like Sewell missed much. Campbell called the minicamp "untraditional," more of an extended walk-through with so many players returning to the field after long layoffs. Coaches rotated in at quarterback and the only real competitive activity came in the form of 10 seven-on-seven plays on Sunday.
"I told (the players) this: nobody's going to make this team over these three days," Campbell said. "That's not what it's about. It may help you get invited to training camp, but you're not going to make this team right now. I wanted them to be smart. Some of these guys haven't played in two years, so we thought it was important to be smart about how we practiced and that's what we've done."
Sewell, who opted out of the 2020 season at Oregon to prepare for the NFL Draft amid concerns about the pandemic, revealed his COVID-19 diagnosis last Tuesday, the day he was set to arrive in Detroit.
"Really wish I was heading to my new home today and able to be at mini-camp with my new teammates and coaches," he said. "Look forward to getting out to the D as soon as I'm cleared!"
