New Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed the media Thursday and revealed a chunk of info about one of his players — a softball-sized chunk.
Campbell noted the improved play of second-year defensive lineman John Penisini, whom he said has elevated his performance this summer, might be partly due to Penisini’s health.
“John Penisini had what looked like softballs in his shoulder that he had repaired after the season, after the fact,” Campbell said. “It just looked like a bunch of calcium deposits that had been in there. You wonder why, when you watch the film last year, why he’s not using his arm. It’s because he had issues.”
Penisini, selected by the Lions in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, still put together a solid rookie campaign in spite of his “softballs.” The 24-year-old defensive tackle started 12 games (playing in all 16 overall) and totaled 35 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery.
“It’s a credit to him playing through it and all of those things,” Campbell said. “He’s better and you could see it yesterday. It was impressive.”
–Field Level Media