Dan Campbell just gave the clearest sign yet that the Lions aren’t done shopping on the offensive line
Detroit already worked out Laken Tomlinson and Will Hernandez, and Campbell says the answer to one of the team’s remaining offensive-line questions may come from another roster.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell made it clear during Tuesday’s press conference that the team’s offensive line competition is far from settled. Campbell addressed several position battles, touching on the defensive line and the wide receiver competition, but the offensive line discussion grabbed the most attention.
“You know, back into the O-line is always going to be up. There might not even— I say that, there’s a chance that player’s not even here yet either. So it’s not just here, it’s also the other 31 teams. That’s a competition right now with somebody that might not even be in the building.”
That says a lot. The Lions brought in Laken Tomlinson and Will Hernandez for workouts last week, and it looks like Detroit has every inclination to keep doing stuff like that. Don’t be surprised if the Lions work out somebody this week or next week before they play the Saints.
The wording to really pay attention to is that the offensive line battle is “always going to be up.” It says a few things.
The battle that never happened
First off, there wasn’t really a battle. The competition was supposed to feature Christian Mahogany going up against Ben Bartch, with Miles Frazier, Juice Scruggs, Giovanni Manu, and Michael Niese all involved. But injuries torpedoed the whole thing.
Manu practiced one day and hasn’t been back since. Bartch has had maybe two or three practices this summer. He dealt with an injury coming into camp, then went into concussion protocol. Nobody knows when he’s coming back, and it’s fair to question whether he’s shown enough to make the team at this point.
Juice Scruggs got hurt, and as soon as he came back, he was thrust into the center position because Cade Mays is now going to be out for a few weeks of the season. Niese probably never had a real chance at the battle but was part of it, and he had to move to center because of the Mays injury and a teammate having to move up because Scruggs was out.
There’s just never been a battle. Mahogany has looked fine, and there would be nothing wrong with giving him the job. But the Lions are telling you right now that it’s not over. Mahogany doesn’t have the job locked down. He could lose this thing, and it could happen in the next few weeks.
Where the Lions could go shopping
On Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, a bunch of new free agents will hit the market and the waiver wire. The Lions are going to be one of those teams out there looking for some of these guys.
I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a trade, either. I wouldn’t be shocked if Detroit tried to do something like they did last year when they traded for Tim Patrick right at the end of training camp.
There are guys out there to consider trade-wise. Jackson Powers-Johnson could potentially be traded, with Caleb Rogers possibly getting the job over him. Jon Gaines II is somebody with a lot of starting ability who could possibly be traded from the Cardinals. A Patriots guard is another name that has come up as a potential trade candidate. Even Zak Zinter has rumors swirling that he may be available, though he hasn’t really become what everybody thought he might be in the NFL due to the injury he suffered at Michigan.
There are a lot of rumors flying around, and it’s one to watch.
What this means for Mahogany and the Lions
The Lions are going shopping. Whether it’s a trade, claiming somebody off waivers, or signing a free agent, there is a good chance that just because Christian Mahogany is the starting left guard today does not mean he will be the starting left guard in Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, or Week 8.
The way Campbell is talking, that battle is just going to continue. Detroit is still trying to find its best five on that offensive line. It seems like the Lions have their left tackle, they have their center set up with Juice Scruggs even though he’s not the guy they went out and paid for, and they have Tate Ratledge at right guard and Blake Miller at right tackle. They just need that left guard.
Is it going to be Mahogany at the end of the season, or is it going to be somebody who’s not even on this team yet? The Lions are telling us it could potentially be either. We’ll see what happens in the coming days.
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