D.J. Reed took some extra measures this offseason to get his hamstring "back to where I need it to be," he said.
"I went to Panama and got some stem cells," Reed told reporters last Thursday as the Lions progressed through OTAs.
It wasn't Reed's first trip to Panama; he started doing stem cell therapy at the suggestion of 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, his 2018 draft mate and former teammate in San Francisco.
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"I want to say two years ago -- we’re good friends, we both got drafted together -- he told me about stem cell, so I’ve been going there for for not only my hammy from last year, but I get a couple things done while I’m down there," said Reed, who spent a week in Panama on this occasion.
The early returns are encouraging, a good sign for the Lions' defense. Reed was starting to play like a No. 1 corner last season in the first year of a three-year, $48 million contract before he suffered a severe hamstring strain in Week 4, and he wasn't the same player after he returned.
He could feel it on the field, and see it even more clearly on film.
“It wasn’t like I was going out there and I couldn’t run," he said. "It was more so like, when I was watching the tape and watching how I was covering guys before the injury, I was just stickier and I had that burst that I’m accustomed to having.
"And watching later in the season in other games, it was the same technique, but guys were just running by me. I just didn’t have that extra gear. It was definitely humbling and I definitely had to alter some of the ways that I had to play just to stay on top (of routes)."
Asked if he feels like he has that burst back, Reed smiled and said, "Yeah, it’s definitely there now." The hamstring "feels good" after an offseason of treatment and training, he said, "but it’s something that you gotta continue to work out and rehab."
Acknowledging that spring practices only mean so much -- and that a lot can happen between now and the start of the season -- Dan Campbell said earlier this month that he likes how Reed looks. The Lions got two versions of Reed last season: pre-injury and post-injury.
Getting back the former would pay big dividends for the defense in 2026.
"He's moving well, and that's encouraging coming off of what he did," Campbell said. "And I don't disagree, that's not an easy injury for a corner. That was a pretty significant hamstring he came back from, but I like the way he looks running around right now."
More importantly, Reed likes the way he feels. He's come a long way since suffering the injury last September, and intends to regain his form in year two with the Lions.
“Man, it was tough, I’m not going to lie," he said. "With the severity of the strain -- it was a bad strain -- I thought that I initially needed surgery. But it’s football: nobody cares. It was tough rehabbing. Had to teach myself how to walk, jog, sprint again, and then going back to playing football was a tough task.
"But there’s no excuses. When you’re out there, you’re out there, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting back healthy and balling out and doing what I was doing before the injury."
