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The NFL announced Wednesday that Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions will be the only NFL team without a rookie minicamp this offseason.
The next significant NFL event on the 2026 calendar is rookie minicamps. Those will take place for teams around the league either the first or second weekend of May. But that won’t be the case for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced the rookie minicamp dates, along with the dates for the rest of the offseason workouts around the league.
The Lions will be the only team this offseason not to host a rookie minicamp.
Instead, Campbell and the team will hold their next round of offseason workouts from May 27-29. They will also have workouts from June 2-4 and June 9-11.
Detroit’s mandatory minicamp, which is the last offseason activity on the team’s calendar, is set for June 16 and 17.
SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman reacted to the team’s decision not to host a rookie minicamp. Reisman called it a “significant oddity.”
“It isn’t breaking news the Lions aren’t holding rookie minicamp this year. The Detroit Free Press was the first to report this last week. However, with all 32 schedules out for OTAs, it’s now clear Detroit is the only one skipping out this year,” wrote Reisman.
“As for why, Lions general manager Brad Holmes was asked after Day 3 of the NFL Draft, and his answer didn’t provide much clarity. He simply noted that they have determined that there are more valuable ways to spend their time, as they looking to adjust and improve their process.”
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb