Detroit Lions defensive end Ahmed Hassanein had to compose himself. He had just accomplished a life-long dream of his and was breaking down and crying. But it was third down, and the second-team Lions defense was trying to get an early stop going against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Let’s back up.
Before Thursday night’s preseason opener, Hassanein was getting in one last cram session. He was watching tape, preparing for his first football action since last preseason, and, more importantly, he was manifesting.
He knew he was going up against one of the best quarterbacks in football in Joe Burrow. All he wanted was to sack Burrow. So he spent all day telling everyone—coach Dan Campbell, his wife—that he was going to do just that.
“I truly, truly prayed about it and I manifested it,” Hassanein said after the game. “And I said, I’m going to sack him before the game. And coach Campbell said the same thing. I just kept telling my wife, ‘I’m going to sack Joe Burrow, I’m going to get him.’ I just kept talking to God about it.”
Then, on the Lions’ fourth defensive snap of the game, Hassanein substituted in for his first snap of preseason football. You already know what happened next:
After initially getting stymied, Hassanein made an inside move, tapped into his relentless motor, and took down Burrow.
And when it happened, the emotions overtook the moment.
“I cried. I didn’t know what to do. I literally broke down,” Hassanein said. “But I had to go back on defense.”
Hassanein has been one of the biggest stories of Lions training camp. Coming into 2026, he was still considered a very raw player with a great story and an even greater football character, but expectations remained relatively low. However, he’s been one of the most explosive and consistent playmakers on defense since camp opened up. And by translating that promise on game days, he’s starting to earn the trust of his coaches.
“I don’t feel like I’m surprised,” coach Dan Campbell said Thursday night. “I felt like they came out and made plays. Just the way Ahmed played, the things he’s able to do, you feel like it would translate, certainly with this preseason. It was good to see, it was maximum effort.”
Hassanein wasn’t even done for the night. In the third quarter, he bent around the Bengals left tackle, and swatted the ball out of Josh Johnson’s hands for a third-down strip sack. That, too, was the result of his relentless preparation.
“We always credit (defensive line) coach Kacy Rodgers. When you get a rush, you have to reach for it,” Hassanein said. “When the ball is going to be there—we call it a tomahawk on air—you just reach, reach, reach, reach. And then the ball is going to be there.”
Hassanein’s story has now become much more than just a feel-good narrative to take you through the offseason. He has a real chance to not only make the roster, but to make an impact on defense this year. But the second-year defensive lineman is not thinking too far down the road.
“There is so much work to be done, and I have a feeling I’m going to get so much better because I’m going to keep working,” Hassanein said. “I’m going to keep stacking, and I’m just going to not look too far ahead and too far behind.”
