The Lions were booked to leave Orlando on Jan. 27 for a 10-day training camp in Cancún, Mexico. It was part of new coach Oscar Pareja’s detailed preseason plan, which was structured to physically overload the team to lay a strong fitness base for his first season with the team.
But DeJohn had another focus — the birth of his first child, who was due on Jan 22. If his son came late, DeJohn knew he couldn’t leave his wife, Lisa, to deliver their son on her own.
“It was a little bit unsettling,” DeJohn said. “Obviously I'm gonna be there for the birth of my kid, but at the same time we have a new coach in Oscar and I want to be there to show that I can play and get in the lineup.