ALLEN PARK -- Tight end Brandon Pettigrew was not in attendance at the morning session of Thursday's mandatory minicamp. Coach Jim Schwartz said he was excused for personal reasons. Pettigrew was at the afternoon session and would not elaborate.

The Lions tight end is one of a few Lions coming back from ACL knee surgery. He is progressing well. "I'll definitely be ready for training camp, but that doesn't say how much I'll be doing during training camp. I'm pretty sure I'll be limited,'' Pettigrew said.

He has been down this rehabilitation road before. He knows rehab is more than just the physical therapy. He has to get his mind ready too.

"That's a huge part of it, the mental part of it, telling yourself to just not think about it and practice, you'll get along a lot better without thinking about it,'' Pettigrew added.

The Lions finish minicamp on Friday with one morning session. And then they break until they report for training camp on July 30.

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