Lions’ position change with Penei Sewell is great news when it comes to Darnell Wright taking the next step with the Bears
The Chicago Bears right tackle now has a clear lane to claim an honor he came close to earning in 2025.
The Detroit Lions all but confirmed a massive change to their offensive line when head coach Dan Campbell spoke to reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday and responded to a question about Penei Sewell moving to left tackle.
“That’s easy. I’ve talked to him. We’re ready to do that, if need be. I don’t want to say that right now I’m going to commit to that, but that’s, I mean, we’re ready to do that,” Campbell explained. “And all he wants is a couple of days is to work his left hand in the stance a little bit.”
The Lions are in need of a left tackle for the 2026 season following the release of Taylor Decker, after spending a decade with the team. Back in 2021, Sewell started his career out at left tackle while Decker was dealing with a severe spiral finger fracture. Since then, Sewell has played 647 regular-season snaps at left tackle and 4,619 snaps at right tackle.
“It’s a little bit like riding a bike for him,” Campbell added. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. He’ll bank some reps and be able to do it. He gives us that flexibility. If you’re asking me, I’d like to move him. I would. I would like to move him to left.”
At right tackle, Sewell was a monster and among the best in the league, if not the best. He has earned four straight Pro Bowl selections and three straight first-team All Pro selections at right tackle. With Sewell potentially moving back to the left side, other right tackles in the league can finally earn some credit they deserve.
Penei Sewell’s switch to LT opens the door wide open for Darnell Wright to earn first-team All Pro
In 2025, Sewell was the first-team All Pro selection at right tackle while Chicago Bears right tackle Darnell Wright was named as the second-team All Pro at the position. Based on the voting, Sewell received 137 votes (45 first-place votes) while Wright received 31 votes (5 first-place votes). No other right tackle received more than 20 votes or a single first-place vote.
Even though Sewell dominated the voting, it was still a two-horse race at the position with Wright dominating the second-team voting. While it was a second-team nod, it was still the first All Pro recognition of Wright’s career (even if he was a Pro Bowl snub) in his first season working with head coach Ben Johnson, who formerly was the offensive coordinator for Sewell in Detroit.
“I see Darnell Wright very much in the same mold as a Penei Sewell,” Johnson said before the 2025 season. “We tried to do things the last three years in Detroit to highlight Sewell in space, highlight him in one-on-one blocks, him against their best defensive lineman. I see the same thing for Darnell.”
Johnson’s comparison was high praise and put a high bar on Wright going into the 2025 season and he absolutely lived up to it. Even more impressive, Wright played at that kind of level while playing through a torn UCL for the majority of the season.
With Sewell moving to left tackle, the runway is open for Wright to earn his first career first-team All Pro honor in 2026. The remaining top competition includes Lane Johnson and Zach Tom. Securing the honor in his fourth season would also go a long way in Wright’s contract negotiations to secure a deal similar to Sewell’s four-year, $112 million extension that Sewell signed back in April 2024.
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