Getty Anthony Pittman during a Lions preseason game in 2019 against Cleveland.
Perhaps one of the best stories brewing in Detroit Lions camp this year is that of linebacker Anthony Pittman. The young player has captured attention and has impressed en-route to being one of the early studs at training camp at the linebacker spot.
Pittman has been grinding early in camp and making plays every day, and it’s something which has impressed his coaches in a major way. Pittman is generating some major praise early in camp from his coaches, and is looking like a player who could be primed to steal a roster spot as a result of this work.
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Before practice on August 4, Dan Campbell was asked about Pittman and provided a pretty telling answer about where the linebacker could stand at this point in time on the roster. As Campbell explained, Pittman was a player who changed positions after the new staff came to town, and those moves may have been able to unlock some of his potential on the field in a bigger way.
“He’s grown. It was funny. When we came in, Pittman, it was ‘who is this guy?’ We’re trying to figure out what to do with him, what did he play? We’re watching some of the practice from last year. You look at his dimensions, listen to some of the coaches that were here. (Aaron) Glenn’s like, ‘it sounds like this guy should be inside, not an outside linebacker.’ I know he had gotten moved to there and was trying to do some edge stuff. We brought him in, talked to him, he said ‘coach, I feel like inside is where I belong.’ So we moved him inside and he’s just been doing this. He shows up every day. Every day he does something. He can run, he’s physical, he’s a young guy. He’s one of those guys you get really fired up about developing and growing, like what can this guy be? The potential is there and he’s working extremely hard at it,” Campbell said.
A local product from Wayne State University, it is not a surprise to see Pittman giving it all he has to make his hometown team. Players with similar ties such as Joique Bell have excelled in the past with the Lions, so Pittman would simply be another player in that mold if he were to crack the roster this season.
Aaron Glenn Also Showered Anthony Pittman With Praise
It hasn’t only been Campbell who has been impressed with the work of Pittman on the field to this point of camp. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn singled the linebacker out by name during his media availability on August 3, and explained why he is so fired up about Pittman’s play at linebacker.
“I’m excited about the guys that we have. The guy that really stands out is Pittman. He’s making plays on the ball, he’s running to the ball. I’ve been seeing the physical nature of him. There’s a lot of things about that player I like,” Glenn said.
Generating complements like this unfiltered from the defensive coordinator at this point in camp could prove to be good news for Pittman’s roster hopes moving forward. There’s a long way to go in camp and the preseason, but it seems Pittman is catching the eye of the right folks at this point.
Pittman’s Stats and Highlights
Pittman is not a household name for the team at linebacker, and he has been a player that hasn’t generated much buzz in the past. He has only played in a single NFL game in his career, and registered 1 combined tackle and 1 quarterback hit in 2019. Most of Pittman’s reps have been on the practice squad for the Lions, where he landed after the 2019 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent. While in college, Pittman was a stud for Wayne State, where he recorded 181 career tackles, and was tied for the 12th most tackles for loss with 31.5 in his career.
A check of the video shows some of the traits that Campbell and Glenn are raving about early in camp:
Pittman hopes to crack the Lions’ roster for good this season, and though it’s early, he certainly seems to have made a favorable impression on the decision makers.
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