The Detroit Lions, like many other NFL teams, are in the midst of their latest phase of OTA practices.
What has Lions coach Dan Campbell learned across the non-contact practices so far? The 50-year-old added another colorful quote to his lexicon when discussing OTAs on Friday, May 29.
“There’s been a lot of guys that have done really well for two days in pajamas,” Campbell told reporters.
Campbell went on to explain that while the non-contact, OTA practices serve a purpose, he isn’t putting too much stock into them insofar as predicting who will thrive during training camp.
“I’m done with the hype of a pajama party in May,” Campbell said. “It’s about the mental, it’s about the movement skills. All that other stuff doesn’t matter. We’ll find out in training camp who’s who.”
Campbell further detailed that the main goal of OTAs is for the team to “get acclimated.” Achieving that goal will allow the Lions to “hit the ground running” once training camp and the NFL preseason arrive.
Campbell is looking forward to those upcoming opportunities to evaluate his team and praised the depth Detroit has accumulated over the 2026 NFL offseason.
“This will be the most competition we’ve had, in my opinion,” Campbell said. “Top-tier competition. This will be good, across the board.”
But Campbell isn’t yet ready to get overly excited about any of his players’ performances.
“I’m not hyping anybody up,” Campbell said. “Not in May.”
“Nobody’s gonna win a job in the spring,” he later added. “So, that’s where we’re at.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Lions coach Dan Campbell thinks OTAs are a ‘pajama party’