It’s still pretty early in Detroit Lions training camp. But with the calendar flipped to August, it’s never a bad thing for players to already be performing well at practice. On Saturday, Detroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman named some of the team’s stars as players off to impressive starts at training camp this summer. Twentyman, though, also sent praise to a player with very little notoriety — cornerback Nick Whiteside.
Twentyman included Whiteside on a list featuring “five players who impressed” at the beginning of training camp.
“No one in the defensive backfield has gotten their hands on more footballs through the early part of training camp than Whiteside. He had three pass breakups during Day 1 of practice and recorded another pass breakup and an interception off quarterback Teddy Bridgewater on Friday,” wrote Twentyman.
“Whiteside played in nine games for the Lions in 2025 and showed some good things. He has good size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. He’s giving Detroit’s defensive coaches a lot to talk about.”
In those nine games, Whiteside posted five combined tackles and three pass defenses. He played more on special teams but could be vying for a bigger role on defense given his early training camp success.
Whiteside began his career as an undrafted free agent for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
CB Nick Whiteside Turning Heads at Lions Training Camp
GettyCornerback Nick Whiteside received praise for his start to 2026 Detroit Lions training camp.
Twentyman has offered the most praise for Whiteside through the early part of Lions training camp. But others are also taking notice of the cornerback.
“Whiteside is interesting. He really only played big snaps in one game last year but in that game, he was great,” wrote Lions Data on X. “Vs Tampa Bay in Week 7, he played 40 snaps and had a 84.3 coverage grade.
“Was targeted 5 times with only 1 completion and had 3 PD. But he didn’t play much after.”
On Friday, The Detroit Times commended Whiteside for the interception he recorded against Teddy Bridgewater in practice.
“Whiteside is going to be a very underrated piece for the Lions defense this season,” wrote The Detroit Times.
Other social media users are pleased to see Whiteside performing well and hope it continues. If it does, those users see Whiteside having a role in the Lions secondary this fall.
The cornerback played two games for the Commanders as a rookie in 2023. He lined up for only 15 defensive snaps and 13 snaps on special teams in those contests.
Whiteside didn’t receive his next NFL regular season opportunity until 2025. The Commanders released the cornerback in August 2024, and he spent the entire 2024 campaign as a free agent.
The Lions had Whiteside at their training camp last summer and signed him to their practice squad in October 2025.
Dan Campbell Addresses Whiteside’s Early Camp Success
GettyDetroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman argued cornerback Nick Whiteside has stood out for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions early in training camp.
The former undrafted cornerback has practiced well enough to warrant becoming the subject of questions at Dan Campbell training camp press conferences.
Campbell didn’t make any promises when addressing Whiteside’s potential role in Detroit this fall. But the head coach clearly implied the cornerback is on the right track this summer.
“He’s all about business,” Campbell said of Whiteside. “It’s not too big for him. He’s all about business, and he’s going to maximize everything he’s got.
“He looks like he wants a spot and he wants a job, that’s what he looks like. He made more plays than anybody out there. So that’s encouraging. It’s good to see.”
Born in Auburn Hills, Whiteside is a Michigan native. The cornerback attended Saginaw Valley State in college.
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