The Detroit Lions tried something new in their secondary by starting rookie fifth-round pick Keith Abney at free safety. Abney saw the field sparingly in Week 1 and has not seen a defensive snap since. However, head coach Dan Campbell noted that Abney was solid in his first start, and acknowledged that he still has meat on the bone as a rookie.
“I thought he was solid,” Campbell assessed. “The things that popped up with him were the ‘hey, I haven’t done this before,’ which is what you want for a rookie. He is learning as he goes. But we feel very confident that he will learn from those, and he won’t make those mistakes again, so I thought he played a good game.”
Campbell made it clear that this was not just the first start for Abney. This is the first start for him at safety in his football career.
Detroit Lions Give Keith Abney First Career Start
Abney started on the outside in college. However, due to his size, he was projected to play the slot in the NFL. Abney fell to the fifth round, as teams wondered where he would align.
In the preseason, he mixed between the slot and the outside. In Week 1, he played all of his snaps in the slot. There were reports that Abney was working in at safety during practice. However, he had never played there in an actual game. That is why Campbell sees so much more potential in what he can do.
“First start, first NFL start at safety, never played; he banked some reps for us,” said Campbell about Abney getting work in practice. “We have been cross-training him, but there is meat on the bone there, and he’s got room to grow. And we feel like he can continue to grow and get better.”
Abney had eight tackles and an interception in his debut. He might be getting more work.
Lions Could Lean on Keith Abney
The rookie stepped in for Christian Izien, who started the week prior. The free agent addition struggled against the Carolina Panthers, and Detroit only played him there because they were thin. They signed him to work in the slot.
So, after he struggled, they leaned on Abney. Abney admitted the team did not directly tell him he would start, but he started to piece it together.
“They told me, but they didn’t tell me,” said Abney. “It was kind of like easing it in. They were like, ‘ You’re going to be playing more this week, then I kind of took the hint. I was connecting all of the dots and said ok I’m starting this week.”
The question will be what happens after the bye week. Brian Branch is expected to return. He is technically going to play the Abney role, considering both can move in and out of the slot. However, Detroit played Abney as the deep safety last week, which could complement the skill set. Branch and Abney could start coming out of the bye week.
Lions HC Gives Honest Assessment on Rookie’s First Start