The Detroit Lions enter this weekend’s game against the Washington Commanders battered and bruised across the offensive line. Starting left guard Christian Mahogany will be out until at least December due to a knee injury.
Meanwhile, starting tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are both banged up with knee and upper body injuries, respectively, and aren’t expected to practice to start the week. This slew of injuries isn’t what the Lions needed, as they were already without backup left tackle Giovanni Manu, who was placed on injured reserve last month.
On Wednesday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell provided a less-than-ideal update on Manu, saying he’s still a few weeks away, per Justin Rogers of Detroit Football News. Campbell also said that rookie Miles Frazier’s 21-day clock is being started today.
Lions Still Awaiting Giovanni Manu’s Return from Injured Reserve
It’s somewhat shocking that Manu is still some time away from getting back on the field, as he went on injured reserve on October 11. When Manu was placed on IR, the Lions were about to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6.
Since he wasn’t designated as a season-ending IR stint, he was scheduled to miss at least the next four games. Sunday’s game against the Commanders would mark the fourth game missed for the second-year lineman.
That said, the fact that Campbell said he’s still a few weeks away could mean Manu won’t have his practice window opened until the beginning of December. If you’re a Lions fan, you hope that isn’t the case, even though Detroit does have Dan Skipper to back up Decker, who has become a fan favorite.
However, the Lions spent a fourth-round pick on Manu in 2024, so one thinks that they would rather develop the Canadian lineman and have him potentially be a spot starter in times when they need him.
Detroit called upon Manu to make his first career start for Decker against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, where he played a career-high 62 offensive snaps. Manu struggled, logging a 42.2 offensive grade, per Pro Football Focus.
The lineman also had a 17.5 pass blocking grade, while allowing two pressures and two sacks, but was much better as a run blocker (55.3 grade). It wasn’t great, but you hope that he can get healthy sooner rather than later, so you can build him to be a competent backup behind Decker.