Dan Campbell reveals why one former Lions draft pick is still hanging around and why he still has a real shot
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell isn’t giving up on one forgotten draft pick. Despite injuries, position changes, and falling off the radar, Detroit still believes there’s a path to earning a role in 2026.
You want full honesty? I’ll give it to you. It wasn’t until somewhere around March that I realized that tackle Colby Sorsdal was still on the Detroit Lions’ roster.
There’s a simple explanation for that. He got injured at training camp last year and was cut before the season started. He wound up clearing waivers and then reverted back to the Lions’ injured reserve, where he sat all season long. The Lions decided to keep him.
But why? Look, it’s a fair question. The Lions drafted Sorsdal in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and they’ve tried multiple different things with him. They worked him at tackle and guard, and he wasn’t able to nail down either to the point where he might start. He hasn’t played a regular-season game since his rookie year. So what is it they see here?
Dan Campbell explains why Sorsdal is still getting a shot in Detroit
“…Our eyes are open every year. Whether it’s free agency or draft or any of these, you’re acquiring competition, that’s really what you’re doing, you know, and then obviously the more that you invest in somebody, you’re saying you feel like that’s the guy who’s probably going to take that spot, but it’s not a guarantee. So he’s very much in that, our eyes are open. Campbell said. “He’s coming back off of that injury, he’s doing a good job out here, there again, we’re not in pads, but hey, you know, we’ll see, I mean there’s been guys in this league, it happens more than you would think, that are overlooked, or things happen, or it’s injury, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they just, they start, they get their confidence up, they start making plays, and they earn a role, they earn a spot, so our eyes are open, he’s got an opportunity.”
When you think about it, Campbell isn’t wrong. That swing tackle job is set in stone right now. We think it’s going to be Larry Borom winning that job, and that makes the most sense. If we’re being really honest again, it would be a shock if he didn’t win that job. But Sorsdal can challenge there.
Then there’s Giovanni Manu. This could be his last shot to make it happen this summer, and if he can’t get it done, Sorsdal can carve out a depth spot on the roster. He’d have to beat out veteran Devin Cochran, UDFA Melvin Priestly, and second-year UDFA Mason Miller to get the job. But it can be done. So don’t rule out Sorsdal making the 53-man roster.
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