Dan Campbell Sends Warning to Micah Parsons Ahead of Lions-Packers Week 1 Clash

Adding Parsons to a pass-rushing unit that already features Pro Bowler Rashan Gary plus Devonte Wyatt, Kinglsey Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr., and Luka Van Ness, surely helps Hafley sleep better at night.

But one person who isn’t buying into the Parsons buzz is Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who seemingly feels confident his group is up to the task of blocking Green Bay’s prized new pass-rusher.

“I don’t know how much [the game plan will] change necessarily yet,” Campbell told reporters on Monday. “I mean, we’re not even into third down, so we’ll get more into that in the next couple of days. But certainly, we’ll have our eyes on that. We know what kind of player he is. He’s a really good player. But we’ll have a plan.”

Though the Lions are breaking in two new guards in Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratlegde after losing right guard Kevin Zeitler to free agency (he’s since signed with the Tennessee Titans) and starting center Frank Ragnow to retirement, forcing Graham Glasnow to move from left guard to center, their offensive line was ranked sixth in the league heading into the season by USA Today.

And the way Campbell sees it, if the Packers’ pass-rush is much-improved, it forces the Lions’ offensive line to step up its game, creating a win-win.

“Look, they’ve got a good roster,” Campbell admitted. “They’ve got good coaches over there — competitive every year. This division is tough, as we’ve said. But we wouldn’t want it any other way. This is why you do it. You love this stuff, man. The competition that’s involved in it, Game 1, out at Lambeau [Field], love Lambeau, division game — the whole deal. So, we’re going to be looking forward to it.”