The Lions practice squad receiver battle isn't as simple as it appears and the answer may be surprising

Training camp is over for the Detroit Lions, but there's still a position battle very much going on in Detroit. This one is on the practice squad and it's between three veteran receivers looking to make the Lions 53-man roster.

There's former Broncos receiver Tim Patrick. He's been considered the favorite for some time now. Then there's former Pro Bowler Allen Robinson and Donovan Peoples-Jones.

As we mentioned a moment ago, the perception all along was that this was Tim Patrick's spot to lose and that he was going to easily walk right into it. That may not be the case and we might not find out who the top dog is for a while. At least that's how Dan Campbell's comments felt after he was asked if any of these guys would play Sunday.

"All of those guys are competing. That's what, when you're on the vet squad, man, every day, you put in the work, and our eyes are open. I told them all that last week, and so we're we're paying close attention to Robinson as well. So all options are on the table, and we'll just take it as it comes."

Part of this could be Campbell not showing his hand on who will play for a competitive edge, the other part is that they really may  not know who they want to go with just yet. Singling out Allen Robinson was an interesting one.

At one point Robinson was considered to be one of the best in the league, but he hasn't been in that category in a while. Here's his possible chance to show he still has more gas left in the tank.

As far as Patrick goes, this doesn't mean the Lions don't like him or don't feel like they have something there. He could very well play on Sunday. But maybe they want to take their time there to assure that he's 100% ready to go when the time comes.

You can't fully rule out Donovan Peoples-Jones either. He's been here and he knows the playbook already. He could get another shot.

Related: Dan Campbell explains why James Houston didn't play against the Rams and it looks like he won't play against the Buccaneers either