At the beginning of the week, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell dropped an interesting update that the left guard position was still up for grabs in the lead up to the team’s season opener against the New Orleans Saints. Incumbent Christian Mahogany and free agent addition Ben Bartch were to split reps in practice all week, and Campbell even said he’d consider rotating the two in the game if a leader hadn’t emerged in the competition.
But on Friday, Campbell gave a little clarity on the situation, suggesting that Mahogany will start on Sunday.
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“I don’t know. It’s a good question. I’m still thinking about that. There’s probably a good chance Mahogany starts,” Campbell said.
Now, of course, who starts the game and who finishes it could very different. Campbell’s comments are vague enough to suggest that the guard rotation could continue and/or Mahogany could be on a short leash. He could even change his mind before Sunday. Campbell did note that both players have played well in the two practices thus far this week.
“I thought both of those guys did a really good job in practice,” Campbell said.
That’s as close to an answer as we’re going to get from Campbell until Sunday, and this is a competition that could very well extend beyond Week 1, depending on what happens on the field against the Saints. But for a team that was hoping to get their starting five offensive linemen in place by early training camp, I wouldn’t expect Campbell to drag his feet on this competition much longer.