Justin Rogers

The Detroit News

Indianapolis — Here are some notes and observations from the Detroit Lions’ first joint training camp practice Thursday with the Indianapolis Colts.

■ Running back Ameer Abdullah continues to look sharp, both carrying the ball and running routes. In red-zone work starting from the 20, he touched the ball three consecutive plays, leading to a score. He picked up a decent chuck on a first-down run, snagged a pass off his shoe tops to set up first-and-goal from the two, and punched it in with a little jump step around left tackle Greg Robinson.

■ Robinson took all the first-team reps at left tackle, and outside of being beat by a Barkevious Mingo spin move in individual pass-rush drills, it was probably Robinson’s best practice. In full-team work, he moved well and routinely slowed the edge rushers on his side of the line.

■ Cornelius Washington’s return to practice was short-lived. The veteran defensive end left the field with a trainer 30 minutes into the session and wasn’t able to return.

■ Running back Mike James, defensive back Roland Milligan, linebacker Nick Bellore, guard T.J. Lang, offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas, tight end Eric Ebron and defensive tackle Jordan Hill didn’t participate.

■ Drops were an issue for the Lions as multiple players put catchable passes on the ground. Rookie receiver Kenny Golladay and running back Dwayne Washington each had two, while TJ Jones let an easy one slip through his fingers in the middle of the field, helping derail the first-team offense during a two-minute drill.

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■ Golladay’s first drop was bad, but he had cornerback Vontae Davis draped on him for the second. The rookie was understandably disappointed with the miscues, but otherwise made some nice contributions, catching several passes, including an impressive toe-tapper along the left sideline.

■ It didn’t escalate, but safety Alex Carter was flagged for aggressively throwing Colts receiver Chester Rogers to the ground deep in the secondary. Rogers was slow to get up and jawed a little bit with Carter on his way back to the sideline.

■ Tight end Tim Wright continued to get some first-team work, this time in full-team segments.

■ Brandon Copeland got the first-team reps at strong side linebacker and recorded a sack during red-zone work.

■ In the backup receiver battle, Jace Billingsley bolstered his resume with more than a half-dozen receptions working with the first- and second-team offenses. He also had a rare deep catch, on a perfect throw from quarterback Jake Rudock.

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■ Quarterback Matthew Stafford had a hit-and-miss morning. He had two throws broken up early, including one that was nearly intercepted. He also forced a couple others into tight coverage when the pass-rush pressure compressed his pocket. His efficiency did pick up in the second half of the practice.

■ Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata had one of the most brutal wins you’ll see in one-on-one pass-rush work, getting his hand into the chest of a Colts offensive lineman and essentially stiff arming him into the ground.

■ A’Shawn Robinson also had a strong rep, ripping under his blocker’s arm and violently clubbing him in the back to finish.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

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