Four days after linebacker Jack Campbell lay motionless on the Ford Field turf with a neck injury, the Detroit Lions defense is channeling its grief into motivation, according to defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
Campbell, the team’s defensive captain, was carted off the field Sunday on an immobilization board during a game against the Minnesota Vikings. Teammates were visibly shaken, with some wiping away tears as medical staff tended to him on the field.
Campbell has since given what Sheppard and the team describe as a mostly positive update, reporting lower body movement while acknowledging ongoing challenges.
Sheppard told reporters Thursday that the shock of the injury has not faded, but that the team has shifted its focus toward honoring Campbell through its performance rather than dwelling on the scare.
“You’re kidding yourself to say it’s not hard for the players to see something like that happen to anyone, let alone a player of his stature, of his makeup, of his heart,” Sheppard said. “And to think these players are going to walk back in here like nothing happened? So the theme has been, let’s prepare and play like 46 – every day.”
Campbell wears No. 46 for the Lions. Sheppard said that number became a rallying point even before the final whistle Sunday, when he called an uncharacteristic blitz against the Vikings late in the game.
“We’re about to do this for 46,” Sheppard recalled telling his players in that moment.
That mindset has carried into the practice week. Sheppard said he has been asking himself each morning what Campbell would want from the team.
“I wake up [thinking] ‘what would 46 want me to do today?'” Sheppard said. “Would he want us to sulk and feel sorry? I can guarantee you, y’all know Jack, absolutely not. He’d be p—ed off if he found out guys were crying and guys were about him. That’s just his makeup.”
Sheppard said he has repeated the same message in every meeting and walkthrough since the injury.
“So that’s what we’re doing in everything we do. Every meeting I told the unit, every walkthrough, every play, you all know how Jack prepares. You all know how he plays. The way you honor him is to wipe those tears from your eyes and make sure we prepare and play like him. So that’s the thing moving forward to this week.”
Sheppard acknowledged the emotional toll the moment took on his players but noted that the NFL schedule does not pause for injuries. The Lions defense, he said, is being asked to accept what happened, sit with it honestly, and then use it as fuel going forward.
“That is the theme for the week,” Sheppard said.
Add comment