Lions place fourth-round rookie on NFI list to start training camp

The Detroit Lions open their training camp on Tuesday, but the team will not have one of its fourth-round draft picks available to play right away. After reporting with the rest of the rookie class on Saturday, the Lions placed Giovanni Manu on the non-football injury list.

No reason for the move was released by the Lions. Manu had been a full participant in minicamp and OTAs earlier in the offseason.

Manu was a surprise selection as the 126th pick in April’s draft after playing in the relative obscurity of Canadian college football at the University of British Columbia. A 6-foot-7, 352-pound offensive tackle, Manu arrived in Canada from his native Tonga as a basketball player before finding football.

Detroit traded a 2025 third-round pick to land Manu in the late fourth round. He’s viewed as an athletic project with high long-term upside but isn’t expected to contribute as a rookie. Starting on the NFI list won’t help accelerate Manu’s development, unfortunately.