It appears Detroit Lions starting left guard Christian Mahogany could be closer to a return than expected. The second-year offensive lineman out of Boston College broke his leg in Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, but coach Dan Campbell said on Monday that they are currently planning to return him to practice this week.
“We’ll probably try to get him some work this week,” Campbell said. “I don’t know—a lot of it’s going to be what does he look like this week? And, honestly, I don’t expect a lot right now this week. But I do think he’s starting to feel good enough to work him into practice.”
With Mahogany currently on injured reserve, the Lions would have to start his evaluation clock when the team kicks off their practice week on Wednesday. The Lions would have the next 21 days to evaluate Mahogany’s practice and decide whether they will activate him to the 53-man roster or keep him sidelined. At any point during that 21-day process, the Lions can activate him. But based on Campbell’s answer, it certainly sounds like that won’t happen for this week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Instead, the Lions will have to rely on one of their depth players. Veteran Kayode Awosika is the presumed next man up, but he missed last week with a foot injury. Behind him is Trystan Colon and rookie Miles Frazier. The two split time at left guard in Thursday’s game against the Cowboys, and Campbell praised both of their performances. But when asked if Frazier earned himself another start, Campbell pulled the reins back.
“That’s hard to say. I can’t say that,” Campbell said. “Now, that being said, every rep he gets is only going to help him. Those are real reps against some real dudes, real opponents, and that’s the most the most significant reps he’s had. It’s not even close. There again, you do the best you can in practice—and he’s gotten some good stuff with Mac (Alim McNeill) and those guys—but we’re talking about maybe three weeks of practice and maybe 100 reps, if he’s lucky in practice. Now, that being said, do I want to play him? I would love to play him some more.”
So that leaves the left guard position unclear for Sunday. Will Awosika be healthy enough to re-take the job? Will Frazier continue to get some rotated work in? Or will Mahogany surprise Campbell and show more progress than currently expected? We’ll see as the week progresses.
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