'Prepare and play like 46:' Jack Campbell's teammates both reeling and resolute without him

Detroit's linebackers are both reeling and resolute.

Derrick Barnes went from scared to angry to distraught, and eventually to determined. Malcolm Rodriguez spent the first night "hugging my family." Trevor Nowaske still isn't ready to talk about it. Even Alex Anzalone was hurting in Tampa Bay.

When Jack Campbell went down -- and stayed down -- last Sunday, limp and motionless on the turf for several grueling minutes, "there's a lot that goes through your mind," Rodriguez said Wednesday. "In the moment you’re like, 'Jack, get up, get up.' And thinking about his family, Megan and Coop, I just kind of put myself in that position what they’re going through. After the game, me and D-Barnes just broke down, because it hit us."

Barnes and Rodriguez can relate to Campbell as more than a teammate. All three are husbands and young fathers. Campbell and his wife Megan had their first this summer, a boy named Cooper who turned four months old Tuesday. Megan and Cooper were at the game, and in the tunnel when Campbell was carted off the field strapped to a backboard, his life possibly altered forever.

When the game resumed seconds later, with the Vikings going for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter, Barnes and Aidan Hutchinson blew through their blocks and leveled Kyler Murray to force an incomplete pass and get the defense -- Jack Campbell's defense -- off the field in an eventual win for the Lions. Hutchinson still had tears in his eyes as he ripped past the left tackle. Barnes looked like a man possessed as he barreled through the running back.

In that moment, a brick wall wouldn't have stopped either one.

"I think it really started after we huddled up as a defense and the emotion had hit me. And all I could really think about was him," said Barnes. "And thinking about, what would Jack do from here? How would he respond? How would he go out and play? And he plays balls to the wall. And after that, for me, I'm like, it’s time to go balls to the wall and be who Jack is, play how he is, prepare how he would, bring the level of energy that he does to our defense.

"And really, I was angry. I was angry because something like this had happened to my brother. I really felt that. And the best thing I could do was go out and help our teammates, all of us, finish this game for him. It’s one of those things where your sense of urgency picks up, because we know who you’re doing it for."

The Lions, indeed, finished the job for Campbell, which he no doubt appreciated. Jack Campbell would never want the game of football to stop, especially on his behalf. That helped some of the players reconcile the jarring juxtaposition of lining up for another snap mere moments after watching a teammate play possibly the last snap of his life, not yet knowing if he'd speak again, walk again, move again.

"But then afterward it hit me a like a ton of bricks," said Barnes. "you don’t have any updates, you don’t know what’s going on. All you’ve seen was your brother lying on the ground, so that really hit me and Malcolm hard. I haven’t cried like that (in a long time). But that just shows you the love that we have for him."

It was a huge win for the Lions, 19-15 over a previously undefeated division rival. Barnes admitted "it was hard for me to even celebrate, man." He's typically one of the last players to leave the locker room, taking his time processing the game and speaking with the media. On this day, Barnes couldn't get out the door quickly enough. He was removing his pads and ripping tape off his hands, thinking, "how fast can I get to him?"

They've been teammates since Campbell arrived in Detroit three years ago. Barnes showered and drove right to the hospital, declaring, "I won’t leave his side until I know he’s fine."

"It was right after the game, so there’s a lot of traffic, I’m trying to get to him, I’m weaving through traffic. I haven't felt this way in a long time, just heart beating real fast, anxious, nervous, scared a little bit," said Barnes.

On his way, Barnes' phone rang. It was Anzalone, whose own game had just ended in Tampa Bay. Anzalone was a mentor to Campbell from the moment he showed up in Detroit, the leader of a linebackers room and a defense that would eventually shift from his hands to Campbell's. Anzalone, Barnes and Campbell played countless snaps together the last three years. They are bonded for life.

Anzalone had seen the news on his phone. As Barnes was racing down the highway, Anzalone was leaving the Buccaneers' stadium, desperate for answers.

"That was one of the first calls I got," said Barnes. "Alex reached right out. He was devastated, man, because Jack's been with Alex his whole career and I've been with Alex my whole career and it’s like, man, he still has ties here. He looks at us as brothers. Just because we wear different color jerseys, he’s still a huge part of us. He was very concerned, man. With the information I had right after it happened, I was like, 'Bro, I have no idea. I’m going to the hospital right now.' He was obviously sending prayers Jack's way."

When Barnes and many of his teammates reached the hospital, Campbell was still receiving immediate care and going through tests. They were told they wouldn't be able to see him that night. There were only so many people allowed in his room. Campbell was already with his wife and his parents. Dan Campbell was eventually able to visit and talk with Jack as well.

"But I just felt us being close around him, in proximity, it meant something," said Barnes. "And I think being there with all the linebackers really shows you how much of a brotherhood we have and how much we care about each other. Even if we didn’t get to see him, you have to show up and support, man, because I always thought, 'Man, Jack would do the same thing for me. He would do the same thing for everybody in this locker room."

If Jack Campbell is a football guy, he is just as much "a family man," said Rodriguez. When Rodriguez got home from the hospital, he spent the rest of the night wrapping his wife Kennedy and their one-year-old daughter in his arms. "Just thinking of being in his position," he said, "it’s scary."

The next couple days were anxious in Allen Park. Campbell's teammates knew that he was breathing and alert when he was carted off the field, and that he was slowly making progress in the hospital. They didn't know much beyond that. On Wednesday morning in a team meeting, they got the news from Dan Campbell that Jack Campbell shared with the public that afternoon: he has full movement in his lower body and is starting to regain it in his upper body.

"I know there’s still work ahead, but I remain very optimistic," he said. "I’m taking things one day at a time, staying positive, and focusing on getting better ... One thing I’ve learned about Detroit is that this city is built on toughness, resilience, and grit. That’s exactly how I’m going to approach this challenge."

"Jack’s a fighter, we all know Jack," said Rodriguez. "And knowing Jack, he wants us to keep going throughout our day. That’s why we all love Jack, humble guy, so to hear the news from Coach this morning was awesome. It was a sigh of relief. Obviously he’s progressing better. It’s one of those things where he’s going to keep fighting. I know he wants to come back and play already. It’s just how Jack is and that’s why all the guys in here love him."

There will be a time to ponder Jack Campbell's future in football. There will be a time to ask and answer those questions. For the Lions, it's just not now.

"You think about his child, his wife, his family, and that’s what’s most important to us right now," said Barnes. "The football side, I don’t even care anything about that. Our thing is, we want him to be the best person he can be — not football player — just the best person and get back to being who he was, a father, a husband, a brother, a son. Been praying a lot about him, and those prayers are being answered. He’s showing progression each and every day and that’s what we expect coming out of a strong person like him."

Campbell's presence is felt across the roster, on both sides of the ball. Tight end Sam LaPorta, Campbell's teammate going back to Iowa and one of his closest friends, was hoping to visit him Wednesday after practice. Jared Goff, another husband and young father in the Lions' locker room, acknowledged that while "it's so much bigger than football ... I think the best thing we can do is play how he would want us to play, and honor him in that way."

"I know he doesn't want any attention, he doesn't want any fanfare," said Goff. "He just wants us to go out there and handle our business, and that’s what we plan to do."

"He doesn’t want us to feel sorry for him," said star running back Jahmyr Gibbs. "He wants us to stay prepared, stay focused for the rest of the season."

The Lions have a game in three days, ready or not. The Dolphins might be 1-6, but they've given some good teams fits. The NFL doesn't wait. As Dan Campbell said Wednesday in a tone that was both raw and hardened, "They're not postponing this game."

"And I know the only way to honor Jack, we know the only way to really honor Jack and what he really wants, is to make sure that we're locked in and ready to go," said the Lions' head coach. "Because otherwise, what just came about, we're throwing it away, in a sense. We owe it to him, we owe it to all of ourselves to make sure we're locked-in and we make the most of this.

"It's balancing (the fact that) you're humans and you know (his situation), you want to acknowledge it -- it's a lot -- but if that's weighing that heavy and that's where your mind's at, it's not going to be good going in this game and that's where you can get hurt as well."

Nowaske and Campbell are best friends. They came in together as rookies. Nowaske had tears in his eyes as medical personnel tended to Campbell on the field. The emotions are still raw. Asked about it Wednesday, Nowaske sighed and said, "Honestly, I don't really want to talk about Jack." Not yet.

But on the football side, Nowaske and Rodriguez are in line for much bigger roles in Campbell's absence. While Barnes will take over as the green-dot linebacker making the calls in the middle of the defense -- as he did last Sunday -- the other two will be asked to do more in both coverage and against the run. After a horrific start to the season, the Lions' defense has recently turned a corner. They can't let it regress in Campbell's absence.

"The toughest shoes to fill in the NFL without him being there, but we’re all competitors and we're excited for the challenge ahead," said Nowaske. "It’s going to be tough, but we’re going to be ready."

Campbell was named the top linebacker in the country in his final season at Iowa. Last season, he was named the top linebacker in the NFL. Everyone can see the level at which he plays. And "if you could put his play into preparation," said Nowaske, "you would see the same thing."

"Buddy is here before everyone, he’s here after everyone. As cliche as it is, that’s how he is," Nowaske said. "And I know that he knows, and we know, the only way to go about this week is to do what he would do, and put the emotions aside when you’re here and go to work. I know that’s what he wants, for sure.

"Honestly, ever since I’ve been in the NFL I’ve tried to basically copy him to a T. As much as I’ll never be able to, I try my best to see how he watches film, see how he prepares, see how he works out. I feel like the reason I’ve been able to be in the NFL now four years is because I came in with him as a rookie and he showed me the way to be a professional and how to go about your day to day as a linebacker."

The Lions are confident in their linebacker corps. But even Barnes, a six-year vet, is gaining a deeper appreciation for everything that was on Campbell's shoulders. As the green-dot, Barnes is suddenly in charge of everyone around him on defense, a role he hasn't played consistently since his time at Purdue: "It's a little more serious," he acknowledged.

He's been studying more before and after practice this week. He said he's been calling defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton -- both of them former NFL linebackers themselves -- when he gets home at the end of each day "trying to make sure I got everything down pat."

"I was in the locker room earlier today scrambling through my notes, making sure I got everything on point, and it's a little nerve-wracking because when you lead a group of men, you have to be somebody they can look to when things are going bad or good. I told Nowaske and Malcolm, "Now I see why Jack was always sitting at his locker looking like he’s overwhelmed," Barnes said with a laugh. "But that just shows you how much he cares for the game and wants to do everything in his power to help us, and I obviously have to carry that on."

That was one of the main themes that Dan Campbell expressed to his players Wednesday morning.

"This is for him," said Barnes. "One of our keys to victory was, 'Prepare and play like 46.'"

"I don’t want to say 'next man mentality,' because Jack is one of those guys who I would say is irreplaceable. But we know that a lot of guys have to step up and a lot of guys have opportunities this week. You have to make the most of those," Barnes said. "We’re all taught to be starters. We’re all taught that if anything happens and you go in, there should be no drop-off. You should be able to go in there, do your job and help us win games."