By this time Wednesday, the Detroit Lions will take the field for the start of training camp, and what they hope will be a return to form after a disappointing 2025 season.

It’s a pivotal year for coach Dan Campbell and company, who’ve quietly gone about their business this offseason. They had a meat-and-potatoes free agency and draft, emphasizing depth and positions of need. Don’t expect to hear this group openly talk about the playoffs, Super Bowl or anything beyond the immediate. That’s not where their focus is. They have to earn the right to have those convos again.

Right now, it’s all about the work — and that work begins Wednesday.

Storylines to watch

Training camp changes?

If you’ve been following along this offseason, you might’ve heard some of the changes Campbell plans to make in training camp that differ from previous seasons. If not, allow us to catch you up to speed.

• Campbell said he expects this to be the most competitive training camp the Lions have had since he’s been here. That was a goal for him and GM Brad Holmes, and it’s reflective of their offseason additions. Campbell wants to get back to the early days of his tenure, when competition got the best out of his players.

• Campbell said the Lions will “be smart” about getting his players ready for the 2026 season. He said, “We’re going to push it. We’re going to push, that’s what we do, but we’ll do it smart. We have got to get these guys ready for a season. … I’m going to do what I think is best to prepare these guys for 17 weeks, but also understand that we have got to be smart about it and we can’t break them in training camp.”

• The Lions will not conduct joint practices for the first time since 2021.

• Campbell said the Lions could play starters in the preseason.

It’ll be interesting to see what other changes come about. But that’s a good baseline of what to expect, as Campbell looks to evolve without getting away from what got him here.

Can Drew Petzing help the offense return to form?

Campbell’s lengthy OC search this offseason after moving on from John Morton led him to Drew Petzing — a man who wasn’t on many radars. He’d spent the last three seasons overseeing an average Cardinals offense. The head coach who hired him, Jonathan Gannon, was fired. It wasn’t a flashy choice. But is it the right one? Campbell believes it is.

Petzing is a teacher. People you talk to about him say he can coach the veteran quarterback down to the late-round rookie from a small school. He can make complicated terminology and concepts digestible — no matter your experience level. Beyond that, though, he’s a coach who looks to exploit weakness, isn’t afraid to zag when others zig and will bring variety to the run game. In Detroit, he’ll have weapons he’s never had at his disposal. We saw a glimpse of the eye-candy motions in OTAs, and should see more of it in training camp. Between Petzing and an improved offensive line, the offense has a chance to return to form in 2026.

What’s in store for Kelvin Sheppard’s defense in Year 2?

The Lions’ defense is under construction. Multiyear starters Alex Anzalone, DJ Reader and Amik Robertson are no longer here. Former first-round pick Terrion Arnold was released in June. Detroit’s starting safeties are both managing serious injuries and won’t be ready for the start of camp. All that to say, there are a lot of moving parts here. That alone presents challenges for Lions second-year DC Kelvin Sheppard.

When this defense was relatively healthy last season, it was starting to look like a top-10 unit. But will the injury bug be too much to overcome again? Can Sheppard navigate the lack of continuity in 2026 with a year of experience under his belt? How will the new pieces fit? Will Sheppard’s offseason deep dive of the defense with Campbell lead to better results? Or will this season look similar to 2022 and 2023 — when the offense had to carry a defense that didn’t have the juice? The season will yield those answers, but training camp will be the first look.

Position battles to watch 

CB2: After the release of Arnold, the Lions have questions at cornerback. D.J. Reed is back for Year 2 of his three-year, $48 million contract, and the hope is that a healthy season leads to more consistency. The Lions need him to play like a CB1. Then we have the CB2 job, one that could come down to Rock Ya-Sin vs. Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Ya-Sin is the early favorite. He filled in admirably for Arnold and Reed when they missed time last season, and the Lions brought him back on a one-year contract for the depth he provides. Will he offer the same caliber of play in a full-time starting role? Or is it time for Rakestraw, a 2024 second-round pick, to win the job?

RT: The Lions seem higher than most on veteran tackle Larry Borom, and believe he’s coming off one of his better seasons manning right tackle for the Dolphins. That said, you have to think the Lions would love nothing more than for their first-round pick, Blake Miller, to win the job. That the Lions drafted Miller in the first round — over prospects like Monroe Freeling and Max Iheanachor — speaks to them favoring a more NFL-ready tackle. Miller started 54 games in four seasons at Clemson and has a strong work ethic. He fits the profile of a tackle who can step in and provide serviceable play at right tackle, even if there are growing pains along the way.

The Lions would like it if rookie first-round offensive tackle Blake Miller steps in and takes over at right tackle. (Lon Horwedel / Imagn Images)

LG: The early sense is this is Christian Mahogany’s job to lose, but the fact the job is in question in ways it wasn’t last year speaks to the improved depth at guard. Mahogany struggled in pass protection and missed time with injury in his first season as a full-time starter. There’s hope he can improve with better health, natural growth and playing between Cade Mays and Penei Sewell. If not, the Lions can turn to Ben Bartch and Miles Frazier. Those are the three names to watch here.

LB: The Lions let Anzalone walk in free agency and need to find a new starting linebacker. The Lions will likely turn first to Malcolm Rodriguez. Back on a one-year deal, Rodriguez fits the run well and has a natural feel for the ball carrier. He leaves a bit to be desired in pass coverage, but the Lions can make up for that by playing more nickel. If this ends up becoming a battle, it’ll be because 2026 fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder made it one. While he lacks experience, Rolder’s instincts and size could make him an intriguing option if he continues to impress like he did in OTAs.

Safety: The Lions will be without Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (Achilles) when training camp begins, with both placed on the PUP list. Not entirely surprising news, but it will give us a look at the next men up. Based on OTAs and minicamp, it seems like Chuck Clark and Christian Izien, a pair of free-agent additions, will get first crack at it. Clark made plays in OTAs, picking off Jared Goff in one of the highlights of June practices, and Izien is a physical, versatile DB the Lions know well from their battles with the Bucs. We’ll see if Avonte Maddox or Thomas Harper can push for starting reps.

Final thoughts

As you can tell, the Lions have work to do. Show me a team that doesn’t, though. This is training camp — the time to work out kinks and prepare yourself to have the best possible season. In many ways, the Lions are set up for a bounce-back.

They’ve addressed the majority of their needs head-on, return one of the league’s most talented rosters and have a favorable schedule that sets up for early success. But making the playoffs isn’t the primary goal. Whether or not the Lions have what it takes to win a championship will be settled long after training camp, but this period should offer a good first look as we evaluate this team and how far it can go.

Stay tuned.

The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.

Good morning! Alex here, filling in again as Chris takes a break. Inside:

Geography: Just how back is the NBA’s East?

Not even two months ago, it was a common opinion that the “real” NBA Finals were the Western Conference finals between the Thunder and Spurs. They had been the league’s two best teams all season. The West seemed primed to claim a ninth title in the 13 years since the LeBron James-era Heat won their second in 2013. The balance of NBA power was in the West, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama set to keep it there for a while.

Now? Not so fast, my friends. The Knicks becoming the center of the hoops universe was one thing, but Fred Katz made a compelling case after James agreed to a deal with the 76ers last week: The Eastern Conference is back, for the first time in a long time. Once upon a time, it was James’ birthright, renewed each year, to take either the Cavaliers or Heat to the finals. The conference lacked juice outside of his teams. Things feel different now:

• The Knicks are champions of the world and have most of their key contributors back.
• Yeah, the Sixers will be really good, with LeBron, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe. They are a clear title contender.
• The Celtics are still the Celtics, with a healthy Jayson Tatum, a likely better-shooting version of Derrick White and Mitchell Robinson coming over from the Knicks.
• The Pistons are one likely Jalen Duren re-signing away from having the key supporting cast around Cade Cunningham back in the fold. They just won 60 games.

You may or may not like any of those teams in a vacuum against the Spurs or Thunder, as you scribble it out on paper in July. But the East has both quality and quantity up top this year.

Are we getting carried away, though? Just how back is the conference? Let’s tag in Zach Harper, author of the excellent Bounce newsletter.

Zach, hello! When was the last time the East controlled the balance of power?

💬 “Probably the last years of Michael Jordan in Chicago. The late ’90s had a lot of good teams in the West, but it felt like Jordan and the Bulls (or whoever beat them) would win it all.”

Do you think that’s happening again now, finally?

💬 “Perspective matters. If Denver or Minnesota or the Lakers or even the Rockets were in the East, would we think they could win the conference? Yes. I think the East is no longer incompetent in the back half of the standings. There is depth for solid teams. But maybe only three East squads should be considered actual contenders.”

At the least, this upswing seems like it should be good for business. Is it? 

💬 “It should be great for business! We need more intrigue from the East than feeling like a team got to the NBA Finals by default. We need a tough path to winning the conference. We should have that this season.”

Like always, it’s great to have Zach. You can sign up here to read him all the time.

News to Know

UNC GM Lombardi on leave
North Carolina placed football general manager Michael Lombardi on paid leave, the school said yesterday. The move came after a human resources complaint, three people told our reporters. Carolina has billed Lombardi as a key partner to coach Bill Belichick in building up the Tar Heels’ roster.

Shortly after taking his job prior to last season, Lombardi said the Tar Heels considered themselves the 33rd NFL team because of the pro backgrounds of so many people in their building. (UNC then went 4-8.) The team also fielded a recent approach from the College Sports Commission, the enforcement body that tries to police NIL agreements.

Wife of Chiefs coordinator shot; son arrested
Mia Bieniemy, the wife of Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, was shot at their home in Virginia on Sunday night, an NFL source confirmed with our reporter. Afterward, police in Loudoun County, Va., arrested the couple’s son, Elijah, and said they did so in connection with a shooting in which an adult female suffered “multiple gunshot wounds.” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Mia was in stable condition and that she was “a saint, one of God’s good blessings.”

More news

• The Commanders fired tight ends coach Ben Steele after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
• Quarterback Daniel Jones will be a “full go” at Colts training camp after rehabbing from a right Achilles rupture, he said. Wideout Alec Pierce will start on the PUP list.
• ICE said it deported former Colts linebacker Daniel Adongo, who allegedly overstayed a visa. A former rugby player from Kenya, he played for the Colts in 2013 and 2015.
• Stanford football players moved to organize a bargaining unit. It was not clear how many players had signed onto the union effort, who their counterparty would be or what various courts, boards and governments might do to stop them.
• Outgoing Michigan AD Warde Manuel will get $7.1 million and assorted perks from the university after he steps down at the end of the year. Full backstory here.
• The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee wants to talk with FIFA president Gianni Infantino about his relationship with the Trump administration.
• The Trail Blazers and Portland continued to clash over the team’s arena, leaving the franchise’s future in Oregon uncertain.

Watch Guide

📺 MLB: Cubs at Cardinals
7:45 p.m. ET on TBS
Big October ramifications, as the Cubs try to solidify a postseason spot and the Cardinals look to hang in there amid a glut of teams for the third NL wild-card position.

📺 WNBA: Fever at Storm
9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Seattle took a league-worst 6-23 record into the All-Star break. For Indiana, a healthy-looking Caitlin Clark is back in the mix with Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.

Pulse Picks

A terrific story by Mike DeFabo on the Steelers’ new coach: “Mike McCarthy came home to Pittsburgh, his family and the grief he can’t escape.”

Tim Britton’s effort to turn MLB trade deadline returns into an actual science. What would the Tigers get for Tarik Skubal? We may know soon, but Tim offers a good idea.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert may be unpopular with the league’s players, Candace Buckner writes, but she’s not paid to be their friend.

Where could the U.S. find more rugby players? Well, in basketball, reports Daniel Gallan.

The going rates for a men’s college basketball roster, explained by Brendan Marks and CJ Moore. Your price of admission to be competitive this year? $10 million.

Most-clicked in yesterday’s newsletter: Once again, Kerry Wood’s behind-the-back pitch for the Savannah Bananas.

Most-read on the website yesterday: The news report about Mia Bieniemy.

📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes participated in two rookie-centered, closed-to-the-public training camp practices over the weekend before getting a scheduled day off Monday.

Here are three quick observations from watching Mahomes, who has been fully cleared to participate in drills after having surgery to repair the ACL and LCL in his left knee last December.

Mahomes is testing himself

The Chiefs didn’t appear to waste any time pushing the 30-year-old quarterback.

During Sunday’s practice, Mahomes was part of a group that worked on rollouts to his left. That throwing movement — while done under the close watch of coach Andy Reid — certainly was designed to put at least some early stress on Mahomes’ surgically repaired left knee.

Yes, Mahomes still appeared to be favoring that leg a bit. With it being just seven months since he underwent surgery in Dallas, that should be expected.

The action, nonetheless, told us something about how Mahomes and the Chiefs are approaching his recovery. They will be monitoring him closely, but they also seem eager to test his limits.

The brace will be an adjustment

Mahomes said Friday that he felt comfortable playing with a knee brace after using one during part of his college career at Texas Tech.

This much became clear in two practices, though: He still will need time to get used to this particular support around his left knee.

While recording videos of Mahomes, I was struck by how many times he reached over to adjust the bulky brace. Sometimes, it would be a quick adjustment. Other times, he’d mess with multiple straps, pulling and tugging until he got them into a better position.

In other words, Mahomes will be dealing with more than physical limitations when he first takes the field this year. He’ll also have to work around a leg harness that isn’t quite comfortable — at least not yet.

Mahomes is practicing a particular setup more often

This is my fifth training camp covering the Chiefs, and one thing that has stood out so far is that Mahomes appears to be getting a lot more under-center reps.

The Chiefs have typically been a shotgun-heavy team, but that ratio could shift this summer following not only the addition of running back Kenneth Walker III but also after general manager Brett Veach hinted that the team would look to rely more on a downhill run game.

In any case, Mahomes has taken pre-stretch snaps under center and also had seven-on-seven passes begin with that same setup.

While it remains very early — the Chiefs’ first full-squad practice is set for Wednesday — it’ll be worth watching to see if this trend continues throughout the rest of camp.