The Detroit Lions have hit a string of bad luck with their interior OL. Do they have a depth problem now?
The Detroit Lions have been relatively healthy through two weeks of training camp. In nearly every day of camp thus far, they’ve had at least 85 of 90 players practicing. That isn’t to say they haven’t suffered some injury. They unfortunately lost veteran kicker Michael Badgley for the season , defensive tackle DJ Reader remains on the Physically Unable to Perform list, John Cominsky is out for five months , and the interior offensive line is having some issues right now, too.
The Lions lost Netane Muti for the year with a shoulder injury, rookie Christian Mahogany is still on the Non-Football Illness list, and veteran Kayode Awosika has been absent for the past two practices for undisclosed reasons.
To help out, the Lions have made some adjustments to their lineup. Most notably, after transitioning him back to a primary tackle role, the Lions have started using second-year offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal back at guard—while still mixing in some tackle. They also signed veteran Ike Boettger (17 career starts) and Jake Burton (three years of USFL/UFL experience).
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Do the Lions have an interior offensive line problem?
My answer: It’s probably too early to say, but it should be at least a minor concern.
Going into training camp, the Lions looked fine at the position. Awosika and Muti were in competition for a veteran reserve role, while Mahogany provided a nice developmental option. And if anything happens to Frank Ragnow, the Lions remain in good shape with Graham Glasgow ready to slide over.
Now, it’s too early to jump to conclusions with Awosika or Mahogany. We literally don’t know anything about Awosika’s condition—and the fact that he isn’t on IR is good. And Mahogany’s illness remains somewhat of a mystery, even after coach Dan Campbell offered a vague explanation on it.
But I think it’s worth at least pointing out that if the Lions were to go into the season with their current set of interior offensive line depth, it would be an issue. Here’s the list of depth players who appear to be healthy at this moment:
- Colby Sorsdal (3 NFL starts)
- Ike Boettger (17 starts)
- Kingsley Eguakun (undrafted rookie)
- Bryan Hudson (undrafted rookie)
- Duke Clemens (undrafted rookie)
- Jake Burton (no NFL experience)
- Michael Niese (0 starts, 2023 undrafted)
This isn’t to say the Lions have made a huge mistake or have a glaring hole on their roster. They’ve just hit a bit of bad luck at the position early on, and if anything happens to one of their starters, they’ll likely be forced to play a highly-inexperienced player in their place.
Hopefully, Mahogany and Awosika make it back onto the roster soon, because if/once they’re back, Detroit’s depth chart will look much more fortified. Although, it certainly isn’t idea for a rookie like Mahogany to miss all of this time.
Do you have any concerns about the offensive line depth? Scroll down to the comment section and offer your thoughts.