Joint practices for the Miami Dolphins and the host Detroit Lions are set to begin Wednesday.
One Lions player doesn’t think the Dolphins are ready for Detroit’s brand of football, even if it’s just practice.
“I don’t know if they’re ready, I’m gonna keep it a stack,” Lions linebacker Grant Stuard told Sports Illustrated’s John Maakaron. “I’ve played at other places and played against that team last year, and joint practiced against that team twice when I was in Tampa. I don’t know if they practice how we practice. I’m excited to see our guys for sure, and I’m excited to get out there and do something against somebody else, who doesn’t know every in and out of what we’re doing.”
Bulletin board material is as old as the sun is hot, but adding fuel to the fire of a joint practice is a bit novel.
Nonetheless, Stuard has provided a tinge of drama as the Lions welcome the Dolphins for joint sessions Wednesday and Thursday at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, Michigan.
Stuard, 26, is starting his first season with the Lions and is clearly a fan of head coach Dan Campbell’s brand of football.
A 2021 NFL Draft seventh-round choice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stuard is now on his third squad. Largely a special teams contributor, Stuard got his first five career starts at linebacker last year with the Indianapolis Colts.
With Lions linebacking starters Jack Campbell and Alex Anzalone firmly entrenched and Derrick Barnes back from injury, Stuard will have to likely keep his special teams play going.
Nonetheless, he was attracted to Detroit, signing with the Lions in the spring because of the challenge presented him and the appeal of how the organization was run.
“I think that it was a simple decision once you understood how everything was being run here and what they care about here and what the standard is here,” he said. “I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to make the team. I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to find a role. I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to learn the playbook. I had a couple other teams I could’ve went to where it could’ve been more welcoming, or a more vanilla situation, and my whole thing was, man, I’m going into Year 5. I feel confident that I can play on somebody’s team, so why not take a swing on playing on a team that I think best suits me, that would allow me to be held to the highest standard. It’s been a journey as I’ve been here.”
It's a journey that’s had some intrigue added to it ahead of what promises to be a couple of physical practices and a preseason Week 2 game against the Dolphins on Saturday.