The Detroit Lions are gearing up for their Week 1 matchup against their longtime rival, the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions hope to have a mostly healthy team for the regular season opener, as the injury bug hit them hard during training camp and preseason. On Thursday, the Lions released their latest injury report, which didn’t have any major injuries to report.
However, backup tackle Jamarco Jones was listed as a limited participant with an ankle injury, which is not good. And to make matters worse, tackle Dan Skipper has not been at practice this week, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit.
Therefore, if Jones is limited again on Friday and questionable for Sunday’s game, it could open up an opportunity for second-year offensive lineman Giovanni Manu.
Second-Year Tackle Giovanni Manu Could Make NFL Debut in Week 1
The 24-year-old lineman didn’t play at all his rookie year in 2024, which is not surprising, given the talent on the Lions’ offensive line.
The 6-foot-7, 350-pound Manu is still raw as a player, but he showed the ability in Canada to play both left tackle and guard at the University of British Columbia. This summer, the young offensive lineman had his ups and downs in training camp, but also had moments where he played well in the preseason.
According to Pro Football Focus, Manu had a 58.2 pass blocking grade, but a 44.0 run blocking grade through four preseason games. He was also credited with one penalty, which was against the Miami Dolphins.
Despite these grades, the Lions know that they might need Manu at some point during the 2025 season. They hope it's not Week 1 against Green Bay, but if one of their starting tackles (Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker) were to go down, it opens the door for Manu to see some playing time.
Just like their defensive line depth, the Lions’ offensive line depth isn’t the best behind their starters.
That said, if injuries were to happen, Detroit is banking on all the work they’ve done with Manu this summer and last year will hopefully pay off. The second-year lineman was considered a potential cut candidate earlier in the preseason, but he showed the coaches enough to stick around on the 53-man roster.