The Detroit Lions have established a precedent of not playing their starters in the preseason and instead opting to get them their necessary work in a more controlled practice environment. At the same time, the Lions also believe that it’s paramount to get their rookies as many snaps during training camp/preseason as possible in order to shorten their developmental curve. Unfortunately, the Lions will occasionally find themselves in a situation where these two philosophies are in contrast.
At the center of this Venn diagram of philosophies are the Lions’ top two draft picks: Tyleik Williams and Tate Ratledge. Both have established themselves in starting roles at defensive tackle and right guard, respectively.
Williams and Ratledge were held out of the Lions Hall of Fame preseason game against the Chargers, but in an effort to potentially get them some game reps, coach Dan Campbell is considering playing them against the Falcons in the Lions’ second preseason game on Friday.
“I’m thinking about that,” Campbell said at his Wednesday morning press conference. “I would like to get them going this game, but I’m not 100% set on that yet.”
Beyond gaining valuable NFL-level game reps, the Lions could also be considering playing their rookies due to injuries along the offensive and defensive lines.
Heading into the Falcons game, offensive tackles Dan Skipper (ankle) and Jamarco Jones (ankle) are both injured and expected not to play. That would leave the Lions with just nine offensive linemen, meaning they would need to lean on at least one reserve tackle to play beyond a typical single half of football. The debate coaches are likely having is: should we play Ratledge for experience and the ability to roll two lines (by shifting Colby Sorsdal from guard to tackle), or should we give extra snaps to Giovanni Manu and/or UDFA rookie Mason Miller?
On the defensive line, things are arguably even slightly worse. Injuries to Pat O’Connor (leg) and two surprise practice absences from Brodric Martin (undisclosed) could leave the Lions with just three or four reserve defensive tackles available to play against the Falcons. The Lions opted to rest veteran nose tackles DJ Reader and Roy Lopez against the Chargers, but they’re currently the only healthy nose tackles on the roster, meaning Lopez would likely have to play. So, would the Lions feel comfortable playing a preseason game with only Lopez, Chris Smith, Myles Adams, and UDFA rookie Keith Cooper? Or, will they consider playing Williams to gain experience and help with the rotation?
With the Lions traveling on Thursday and no press conferences scheduled before Detroit’s next preseason game, we likely won’t have an update on the Lions’ decision until game time on Friday.
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