Thompson getting ready for Lions' camp

Jordan Thompson is not guaranteed a spot on the Detroit Lions roster after signing a two-year deal last season.

Thompson can guarantee one thing, though: He's going to work really hard to make sure that happens.

The former Parkway High School standout and Ohio University tight end finds himself in the same position he was in a year ago: fighting to earn a spot on the roster.

"There's 90 guys on our roster right now and they have to cut that down to 63, so there's a lot of work that has to go on between now and the start of the season." Thompson said. "But Detroit's a great organization, and I'm doing all I can to try to be there as long as possible."

It turned out well for Thompson last year as he went from the practice squad to joining the active roster for two games in October.

With the Lions tight end core decimated by injuries, Thompson made his NFL debut on Oct. 19 against the New Orleans Saints. He played offense and special teams in a 24-23 come-from-behind victory. The following week, he traveled with his teammates to London where they came back from 21 points down to defeat the Atlanta Falcons on Matt Prater's last-second field goal.

"The week going into the New Orleans game, I knew we weren't healthy at the tight end position," Thompson explained. "I had a pretty good idea but nothing was official until Saturday afternoon that I'd be called up to the active roster. That was exciting. Somebody must have asked Coach (Jim Caldwell) if he felt that I was prepared to play, and he came out and said that I was a guy who took the preparation seriously and that he had no doubts that I was ready to play in that game.

"That was nice to know that he thought enough of me and that he could see the work I was putting in, not only on the practice field but also in the classroom."

The Lions went 11-5 and earned a spot in the NFC Wildcard game where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-20. There is optimism in Detroit heading into this season with quarterback Matthew Stafford entering his seventh year and a plethora of options offensively, including All-World receiver Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. The defensive line may be a question mark after losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, but the Lions are expected to compete for an NFC North crown.

Detroit is carrying six tight ends on their 90-man roster. Included on that list are veteran Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron, Joseph Fauria, David Ausberry, Thompson and Casey Pierce, a rookie from Kent State.

"As far as coming into year two, I'm a lot more familiar with the expectations and how the coaching staff operates," Thompson said. "Year two under the offense is a lot better because last year, the whole coaching staff was new, so it was the first year for everybody in the offense, and everybody was learning throughout the season. It was a work in progress as far as trying to get down the offense and understanding all the nuances of it.

"I felt like coming into that first week of OTA's (organized team activities) this summer), we were farther ahead from a rhythm standpoint of guys knowing what was going on, knowing the big picture, and that was really exciting to see."

Thompson has stayed busy during the offseason. At the conclusion of the season in January, he ventured to North Miami Beach, Fla. to continue working out at Bommarito Performance from January until he had to go back to Detroit for OTAs in April. Thompson stayed in Detroit from April until the last day of mandatory mini-camp on June 18. Thompson has maintained a close distance to home since then, holding camp in Cincinnati as a way to be around for weddings and other social gatherings this summer, he said. In late June, Thompson was asked by the league to appear at the NFL Rookie Symposium to share his story.

"It is a little unique being out of football and then having an opportunity to get back in and play," he said. "I really tried to stress to the guys at the Rookie Symposium that you can never take a day off, because the competition is so fierce at this level, as soon as you take a day off, that could be the day that they show you the door."

Thompson recorded 60 catches for 666 yards and six touchdowns at OU before his senior season was cut short by a torn medial collateral ligament during a game against Buffalo. The injury required surgery and took six months of recovery time. In the spring of 2012, Thompson graduated with an engineering degree and then ventured to Miami to rehabilitate his MCL to ready himself for a future in football.

The NFL draft went by without the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end's name being called. After an unsuccessful tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, Thompson tried again to capture the eyes of NFL scouts the following March when he took part in Ohio University's Pro Day. That performance earned him a spot at Detroit's April mini-camp. Thompson became one of three players out of a pool of 18 who were awarded contracts by the Lions.

"It was a wild ride. To be out of football for essentially a year-and-a-half and to get signed in April, that was pretty exciting," Thompson said. "Once I got signed, that was just half the battle. The next battle was just trying to make the team. To fight through OTA's (then) to come back to training camp and get through that, the mentality was just to survive and do whatever I could to make tomorrow a reality."

Thompson has maintained a low-key lifestyle since joining the NFL, he said.

"I'm not guy who has to have fancy clothes or a fancy car or anything like that," he said. "I'm really just trying to keep that mindset - I really feel I almost still live on a college budget."

Throughout the whole process, Thompson has maintained a strong work ethic because he understands nothing is guaranteed.

"I have to work hard every day to try to show my value to the organization and to really give them a reason to keep me," Thompson said.