The Lions are still weeks away from their regular season opener, and the depth of their offensive line in charge of keeping Matthew Stafford safe is already being put to the test.
Following their 21-17 preseason loss to Washington, it was confirmed that starting right guard Larry Warford suffered a high ankle sprain. An injury of that magnitude puts Warford’s week one status in jeopardy. Not the greatest news for the young guard out of Kentucky. After starting all 16 games his rookie season, he missed four games last season with two separate knee sprains. Now, it looks like he could miss more time this season, although the hope is that it would be minimal.
Lions Offensive Line Depth Being Tested Early
Immediately stepping in for Warford will be Taylor Boggs. The ex-Bear has played both center and guard in his career. The Lions also have first-round pick Laken Tomlinson as a possible replacement for Warford. Tomlinson played right guard for his entire career at Duke. However, the Lions drafted him to be their future left guard, and he finds himself in a battle for the starting job with veteran Manny Ramirez.
When asked, Tomlinson expressed his willingness to switch back to right guard if needed.
“I mean, wherever the coach wants me to play, I’ll play,” Tomlinson said. “That’s how I feel. In the off-season when I was off in January I was training for any interior position, so if the coach needs me to play a position, I’ll play it.”
Right tackle LaAdrian Waddle was just recently taken off the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. He has missed all of camp so far as he has been recovering from offseason knee surgery to repair a torn ACL. That takes a little pressure off second-year tackle Cornelius Lucas who had been starting at right tackle throughout his absence.
Injuries are never a positive, especially before the regular season has begun. However, the Lions have bolstered their offensive line with draft picks over the past three years. They have the depth to deal with injuries unlike years past, we will see if this young offensive line can be resilient and adopt a “next man up” mentality if need be. One thing is for sure, the young guys are going to get put to the test these last two weeks of preseason.
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