Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Anquan Boldin's role, Taylor Decker's position lead storylines for Lions training camp

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Glover Quin says he’s fine. The Detroit Lions are hoping Ameer Abdullah and DeAndre Levy are as well. Brandon Pettigrew, well, he’s still coming along.

Injuries will be less of a question this year for the Lions entering training camp than they were a year ago, when Haloti Ngata and Joique Bell, among others, were recovering from injury. Now? The questions are a bit deeper.

Here are five major storylines and questions to look at as camp kicks off Friday.

1. The new-look receiving corps: Everyone knows Calvin Johnson is retired. The biggest question entering camp is how the Lions try to replace the likely future Hall of Famer. Marvin Jones and Golden Tate as a tandem are a start. The signing of Anquan Boldin -- as long as he still has something left -- is a strong depth option. But how much can he provide to Detroit?  Then there’s tight end Eric Ebron, who is a legitimate breakout candidate, and the running back tandem of Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick. TJ Jones should factor in as well. In other words, there are a lot of options. Matthew Stafford and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter just have to make sure those players are in the right positions at the right times, and that’s what camp is for.

2. Is Taylor Decker really the left tackle: It sure seems like he is. Head coach Jim Caldwell wouldn’t completely commit to it Thursday, but Decker worked at left tackle throughout the spring and Caldwell said that’s where he is for now. That means Riley Reiff moves over to right tackle. As long as Decker doesn’t look completely out of place once the pads are on, it seems like the first-round pick will be Stafford’s blind-side protector. It could lead to some tough moments early, but would pay off well down the road. He is a key piece to a rebuilt offensive line.

3. Who is next to Glover Quin: When Detroit’s defense has been good the past two seasons, it has relied on strong safety play from Quin and either James Ihedigbo or Isa Abdul-Quddus. Both Ihedigbo and Abdul-Quddus are gone, and the Lions have a wide open competition to refill the strong safety spot. Rafael Bush will enter camp as the leader for the job, but pay close attention to rookie Miles Killebrew and second-year pro Isaiah Johnson. Both have potential for the future and could push Bush immediately for the starting role. Quin seems to have confidence in whoever wins the role, but he would likely have to tutor anyone other than Bush in the defense.

4. Jim Caldwell’s future: This is something that likely won’t be decided (or at least announced) until 2016 becomes 2017, but as camp goes along, it’ll become clearer what type of team Detroit has this season. And if it looks like it might be a team lacking in major areas, that could be a major issue for Caldwell’s future in Detroit. Caldwell said Thursday he was appreciative for returning to the Lions in 2016. With Bob Quinn more settled in now than he was in January, figure his decision on Caldwell’s future -- if he has to make one -- will be fairly definitive.

5. Matthew Stafford: So far, the talk around the quarterback has been all positive. Caldwell said Stafford understands the offense better now than at the end of last season. But the Lions are going to go only as far as Stafford is able to lead them in 2016. He is the clear leader in Detroit for the first time, both in tenure and in position. If he can continue his run from the second half of last season, Detroit has a chance to be really good. If not? It could be a long year for the Lions.

^ Back to Top ^