Isaac TeSlaa opened the preseason in a way the Detroit Lions did not want to see. In the first exhibition game of 2026, he had a pass glance off his hands, hit his helmet and end up in the arms of the Bengals for an interception, then later dropped a slant route that helped force a turnover on downs in a 16-14 loss Thursday at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
The mistakes mattered because TeSlaa had been one of the Lions' bright spots a year ago, finishing the preseason with 10 catches, 176 receiving yards and three touchdowns. That made Thursday's start stand out immediately, especially for a player whose name had been tied to momentum entering camp rather than problems.
The game also gave a clean answer to why people were looking his way: this was the Lions' preseason opener, and TeSlaa was coming in after some struggles during training camp. On the fifth play from scrimmage, Luke Altmyer's throw got away from him in the worst possible way, and later, on fourth-and-3, the dropped slant left the Lions at Cincinnati's 29-yard line and still empty-handed.
Dan Campbell did not shut the door on him after the loss. He said on Monday that TeSlaa has speed and that he is pretty electric, which is the kind of language teams use when they still see a player as worth investing in, even after a rough night. But the performance also reminded everyone that preseason buzz can vanish fast when the first live snaps go wrong.
What comes next is simple enough: TeSlaa has to answer it on the field. One bad preseason opener does not decide a roster spot by itself, but it does put the next exhibition snap under a brighter light, and for a player who was a preseason standout last year, that is now the story.
