Wide receiver Josh Reynolds focusing on health during Detroit Lions training camp
(CBS DETROIT) - For some players, the NFL training camp is a time to fine-tune their skills for the upcoming season, acquaint themselves with a new system with new teammates and coaches, or adjust their bodies to fit new roles (losing weight, bulking up, and more).
But for other players, training camp is about fighting for a spot on the roster.
NFL teams can keep up to 90 players on their roster during the preseason, giving a larger pool of players a fairer shot at standing out before the roster cuts down to 53 players.
Numerous factors can go into a player getting cut, such as scheme fit, abundance at the position, and work ethic.
In most cases, the most significant factor that teams consider is health. For Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds, that's his focus throughout training camp.
"Honestly, coming into it, trying to be healthy," Reynolds told CBS News Detroit. "Trying to lock in on these plays a little bit more and work my craft. That's honestly the main thing. If I do that, and [I'm] able to be on that field, then it's limitless."
Drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, Reynolds has seen it all during his seven-year NFL career.
After being claimed off waivers by Detroit in 2021, Reynolds racked up 57 catches for 785 yards and eight touchdowns for the Lions.
"I gotta ball, I gotta ball," Reynolds says. "Every opportunity that ball comes my way, it's got to be brought down. It's got to get brought down. There is no doubt about it. There is no if, ands, or buts. I got to make plays. And honestly, I love it here; I love it here in Detroit."
The Lions are 10 days away from their first preseason game against the New York Giants.
Reynolds knows that if the offense gets going like they did in 2022, the sky is the limit for where Detroit can go.
"We're rocking, we're rocking this year," Reynolds says. "If we can get everybody out there on a great rotation, It's going to be tough."