The NFL trade deadline is a 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and while Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said last week that he didn’t expect the team to make a move, it’s possible things have changed after their Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Losing starting left guard Christian Mahogany to a long-term leg injury means Detroit will need to do some shuffling on the offensive line. And when asked on Tuesday during his weekly 97.1 The Ticket radio appearance, Campbell admitted that they’ve looked into the offensive line as a possible trade deadline move.
“We’ve looked there, for sure,” Campbell said.
When asked to elaborate on what kind of player they’re looking for, Campbell gave a boilerplate answer.
“Anything we feel like would upgrade us,” Campbell said.
That said, finding an offensive lineman to trade for is not going to be easy. Linemen are a hot commodity due to their scarcity and Campbell knows teams may up the price if they come looking.
“It’s hard to get rid of them if you’re the other team. If you are, you’re going to ask an astronomical amount,” Campbell said. “Because the later the season goes, it’s hard it is to find bigs. They don’t just fall off trees, especially tackles.”
Detroit does have several in-house options they could use to replace Mahogany. That includes, but isn’t limited to, Kayode Awosika, Trystan Colon, and Michael Niese. Campbell even talked about the possibility of mixing things up between guard and center.
“I see ‘Yode, I see Colon getting some reps at guard maybe center as well. We may mix some things up here and move some guys around a little bit,” Campbell saids. “Still thinking through all this while I’m getting ready for these guys and game planning. Then we’ve got Niese on vet squad, we’ve got Cochran on vet squad, we’ve got Kingsley (Eguakun) on vet squad. So we’ve got options here, and it’s about finding the right combination of guys and then just letting them cut it loose, get used to each other, and freakin’ play relentless, hard-nosed, finishing football.”
One option Campbell said they were not considering is moving rookie right guard Tate Ratledge to center.
“I want Ratledge just to hone in on guard right now,” Campbell said.
The good news is the Lions don’t seem to be too worried about their tackles. Campbell provided a small, but optimistic update on both Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker, who left Sunday’s game against the Vikings briefly before returning to action.
“It seemed a little more positive as of last night, as to (Decker) and Penei both,” Campbell said. “But I still don’t know for sure (if they’ll play vs. Commanders).”
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