The Detroit Lions could be getting an important piece of their offensive line back soon, as starting left guard Christian Mahogany has returned to practice, which starts his 21-day injury evaluation clock.
In Week 9 against the Vikings, Mahogany suffered a lower leg injury after his leg swung into a defender, forcing him from the game. While initially labeled a knee injury, in the coming days, coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that Mahogany suffered a broken bone, which would give him a chance to return this season.
“For what the injury is—it’s a broken bone—relative to injuries, that’s a good thing,” Campbell explained. “I think (it) will heal up; it’ll be stronger than it was before.”
Mahogany was placed on injured reserve and missed the next five games, but in Week 14, he could be seen on the sideline at practices working with trainers. This is a traditional first step ahead of returning to practice, and something Campbell hinted the Lions may do this week.
“We’ll probably try to get him some work this week,” Campbell said of Mahogany on Monday. “I don’t know (if he’ll play)—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.”
Over the next 21 days, the Lions will have the opportunity to evaluate his injury status, and once he is deemed healthy enough to play in games, the Lions can activate him to the 53-man roster.
While Mahogany has been on injured reserve, the Lions initially turned to Kayode Awosika to start at left guard. When Awosika injured his foot last week, the Lions promoted Trystan Colon to a starting role while also giving opportunities to rookie Miles Frazier. Colon had an up-and-down performance (rough early but sold late in the game), while the rookie flashed potential but still has a way to go with his consistency.
As for this week, Mahogany would surely be the preferred option, but he’s unlikely to be available. Next up would likely be Awosika, but his injury status is still unclear at the moment, with Colon being the next choice. It sounds like they plan to keep working Frazier in for the remainder of the season to get him more NFL experience, especially when Awosika or Colon are in the starting left guard role.
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