The Detroit Lions open training camp with one linebacker job still unsettled, and that is where the attention goes. The open WILL spot is the next real decision on a defense that already has Jack Campbell locked in at MIKE and Derrick Barnes lined up for most of the work at SAM.
That is why Lions Training Camp Tickets are drawing interest now: fans want the first look at a position battle that could shape how the Lions line up on Sundays. The roster includes Malcolm Rodriguez, Jimmy Rolder and Damone Clark, and each brings a different path to the same opening.
Rodriguez may have the clearest claim to the job on paper. Kelvin Sheppard has viewed him as a fourth starter since the Lions picked him in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has already started 15 games as a rookie with 25 starts in four seasons. He was re-signed this offseason, and he said he feels back to being 100 percent now that he is more than a full year removed from a torn ACL suffered in November of 2024.
He also got the first look in front of the coaches. In OTAs and minicamp, Rodriguez took all of the first-team reps alongside Campbell and Barnes, which is usually the kind of early signal that matters. But the Lions did not hand him the job. Rolder and Clark are the two main candidates waiting to push him, and both are in the mix for the same open role.
That is where the competition gets interesting. Rolder made a pick-six off Teddy Bridgewater in OTAs and minicamp and is expected to help early on special teams, while Clark brings more proven NFL work after appearing in 55 career games with 26 starts and recording 109 tackles while starting for the Cowboys in 2023. Trevor Nowaske is also on the roster, but he has played more SAM than WILL in his young career, which narrows the path for the players chasing the open spot.
The larger question is not whether the Lions have linebackers. It is how they divide the work if Rodriguez does not win the job. Last season, they played the most base defense in the NFL, but losing the cover linebacker in free agency can force more nickel packages and push more snaps onto the back end. If Rodriguez does not hold the WILL spot, the Lions will have to settle the battle quickly or spread the duties in a way that changes what the defense looks like in camp and beyond.
For now, the starting point is simple: Rodriguez has the early edge, but training camp is where the job gets claimed or lost.
