Three Lions absent from first day of minicamp

On Tuesday afternoon, for the first time in the Jim Caldwell era, the Detroit Lions hit the field for a practice. They kicked off their voluntary minicamp, which will feature two more practices over the next two days.

This minicamp may be voluntary, but it's the first real chance for the new coaching staff to work with players on the field. With that in mind, I'm sure the Lions would have liked to have had 100 percent attendance, but three players were absent from Tuesday's practice: defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, cornerback Chris Houston and wide receiver Carlin Isles.

Suh's absence comes as no surprise considering he skipped the first two weeks of voluntary workouts. He wasn't expected to be at the minicamp, and he's apparently still off on his own working out. I personally didn't have an issue with him skipping the workouts, but he should be there for this minicamp. Voluntary or not, there is actual on-field coaching taking place, and it just looks bad for him to not be in attendance.

I suppose what I just said about Suh also goes for Houston, although it's possible his absence could be related to an injury. Kyle Meinke reports that Houston is "dealing with a toe injury," so it's not clear if he's off rehabbing that ailment somewhere else or if he wasn't at the practice for another reason.

As for Isles, he's currently playing rugby in Scotland. The hope is that he will join the Lions and give the NFL a real chance once his rugby season is complete, but football is not his main focus right now.