I’m a bit surprised to be reading this…
Yeah this is kind of random. I was reading good things about him. I don’t know, but I feel like this article is bs.
9 Likes
I thought we didnt listen to Payton around here.. maybe rakestraw doesnt turn out but i doubt that the diggs tryout or any comments made the first few weeks of august will have anything to do with that.
4 Likes
6 Likes
Here are the list of Week 2 Lions winners and losers.
Winners
Ennis Rakestraw
Jameson Williams has been willing to share his secrets with the young defensive back. As a result, the former second-round pick has been stickier in coverage this week and was even observed running stride for stride with the speedy wideout during a practice open to fans.
Deep ball to JAMO! Rakestraw was stride for stride with Jameson Williams! Jamo with OPI after pushing Ennis down
Man, that Rakestraw must be in danger of being cut. 
7 Likes
In all my old man years of watching football dating back since i used to walk 5 miles to school in 20feet of snow I have never seen a player as fast as Jamo. Rakestraw must be an alien
1 Like
Rakestraw is pretty much a rookie. He has to develop still. That should surprise no one. He needs to play, stay healthy and become consistent. No shocker there. Keeping Dorsey over Rakestraw feels like a HUGE stretch to me.
No way is he in danger of being cut. No way. McCreary however is in danger as we have guys who can play this role.
7 Likes
Hard to see him being cut barring him being awful in camp which doesn’t seem to be the case going off reports. Will be kept as a depth piece at the very least you would think unless other options become available on waivers.
even the article admits ‘there are good days’ and stuff we’ve seen that first week or 2 he looked decent. I mean covering jamo for gods sake. that punch out was fantastic.
kid needs time ACTUALLY PLAYING.
Dorsey is a ST demon - the clear #1 gunner on our team. Dorsey is practically guaranteed a spot because Brad and Dan believe in all 3 phases and Dorsey is damn good at ST.
6 Likes
The worst thing that happened to Rakestraw was Abney falling to round 5
Would not be surprised at all if we kept 5 CBs and Abney & Whiteside/Dorsey made it over Rake
1 Like
There is a 0.0% chance bringing Diggs in had anything to do with Rake. That’s as false a correlation as anyone can make. We brought him in for a visit because we need depth, literally everyone on the site has been saying that. And yet when we bring a guy in as potential depth, the reaction is ‘uh-oh that means one of our projected starters sucks’. No, that’s not how it works.
12 Likes
If this is the press conference I’m thinking of, he said that about a lot of guys.
Still, dude is underseasoned
1 Like
If he’s not being “uncoachable” and not getting burned incessantly - which he ain’t, apparently - this would be a silly time to cut Rakestraw.
He’s not only healthy but sounds like he did some great work on his body to guard against further injury. If he can stay healthy, he might be in the middle of his longest, uninterrupted stretch of time that he can actually work on his craft.
If he’s indeed having confidence issues, he’s earned that. Kid’s been thru a lot.
This ain’t the time to let him go.
3 Likes
I think he needs more reps. He has not played enough consistently including college. I guess we’ll see over the next month.
-
2021: 4 games (1 start, missed remainder due to injury)
-
2022: 13 games (13 starts)
-
2023: 9 games (8 starts)
-
College Total: 36 games eligible / 36 listed on roster, appearing in 36 games total across 4 years (Note: 2020–2023 falls inside the 6-year window). [1, 2]
NFL Career (Detroit Lions: 2024–2025)
-
2024: 8 games played (rookie year cut short by a hamstring injury)
-
2025: Did not record active regular-season game appearances tracked in major defensive totals / missed time.
While the author of the article might be engaged in quite a bit of speculation, Campbell came out and said what he said. He doesn’t say that about guys having a good camp.
There might be a crunch on the number of guys Captain the defensive backfield due to the reported shift in emphasis on not running three linebackers the vast majority of the time. Especially given that Caribbean branch have issues, it is opened up the camp pretty wide for both second string safeties and corners to get extended looks. The trick will be when Branch is deemed ready to go, and some tougher decisions will have to be made
2 Likes
Best return man we have imo also
I watch all of the pressers. That’s not the way I heard Campbell’s words, at all.
Just the sports press doing what the sports press does.
3 Likes
Exactly right. Hey, Payton, Campbell just used the same “up and down, needs to stack good days” on Blake Miller. I guess that means the Lions drafted a bust, and Miller might not make it out of his first NFL training camp. Oh, except Campbell also said he is not worried about it, and that he just needs snaps and experience. Kinda like… Rake?
Also, I couldn’t help but notice that the Lions didn’t sign Diggs. I mean, if they were prepping to make a move and cut Rake, you’d think they’d want his replacement on the roster.
When I saw the Lions were WORKING OUT Diggs, my first thought was they were doing a veteran a solid and letting him get some work in, and Holmes talks all the time about how they keep notes on guys, just for reference. I think Diggs is doing his part to get another job during training camp, and thats what this was.
3 Likes