Kelvin Sheppard Says D.J. Reed Means 'Everything' to Lions' Defense

The addition of veteran cornerback D.J. Reed has been impactful to the young defensive backs on the current Detroit Lions roster.

Reed, who recently had a stint with the Jets, is joining a secondary that has an opportunity to accomplish massive feats.

Cornerback Terrion Arnold is ascending after a solid training camp, and the back end features two of the best safeties in the entire league.

New defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard praised the 28-year-old and shared what he has meant to the entire defense.

"He's meant everything to our defense," Sheppard explained. "He's been a plug and play guy, not only on the field, but in the classroom, in the locker room. D.J. Reed, I can't say enough about him. I know that Hutch and Anzo were voted captains, but he would have easily been a guy that would have would have earned the right to wear that patch.

"Everything he does is by his work. All you have to do is watch him," Sheppard added. "Watch his attentiveness in meetings. He asks me the most questions out of anybody. Sometimes he'll stop the tape and say, 'Shep, I messed up right there.' I'm like, 'Damn you are telling him yourself?' Just his level of accountability, the level of trust, not only myself but this unit has in him. And those guys follow him. So, it's been very good having D.J. here."

John Morton likes emergency QB rule, talks challenges of developing young quarterbacks

Young quarterbacks typically find it challenging to develop at the National Football League level, simply due to the fact there are only so many reps to go around at each practice.

Hendon Hooker, who the team took in the third-round back in 2023, is no longer part of the organization and is now with the Carolina Panthers.

For new offensive coordinator John Morton, having veteran backups puts him more at ease. He did acknowledge the difficult challenge of developing young quarterbacks, due to the lack of reps they get at each practice.

Morton indicated there are certainly benefits to the emergency quarterback rule.

"I think it's a good thing. I mean, you like to have three (quarterbacks on the roster)," said Morton. "I mean, you saw what happens when you don't. But, it's very important. I think Kyle (Allen) is going to do an unbelievable job. I mean, you want your backups or your third to be really smart, because they don't get a lot of reps. You want them to be, you would like to have a veteran. It just totally helps with - you're at ease if something happens and he can just step in and go. You don't have to change much."