Ever since the Detroit Lions placed second-year offensive lineman Christian Mahogany on injured reserve early last month, the left guard position has increasingly become an issue over the past few weeks.
Kayode Awosika was next up to take over for Mahogany, but he has been an utter disaster on the left side of the Lions’ offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, Awosika has allowed 10 pressures and three sacks in 156 pass blocking snaps (last four games), which is not a good look and doesn’t bode well for his future in Detroit.
The good news for Lions fans is that the Awosika experience could be coming to an end in a matter of weeks.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said on Monday that the team will probably activate Mahogany’s practice clock this week. But Campbell cautioned that he doesn’t expect the second-year lineman to come back this week.
This news from Campbell aligns with what Mahogany told Birkett last week about his target date, when he said that “hopefully next week.” The young lineman also said that he feels “good” physically.
Christian Mahogany’s Return Is Much-Needed for Lions’ Offensive Line
As we previously mentioned, without Mahogany, Awosika has gotten a bulk of the reps at left guard and hasn’t looked good doing it.
Last week, Awosika was in line to start against the Dallas Cowboys, but was suddenly ruled out hours before the game. Awosika’s absence created an opportunity for Trystan Colon and also rookie Miles Frazier, who was making his NFL debut.
The Lions probably didn’t expect Frazier to make his debut last week. Still, he showed some promise in his limited snaps, giving the Lions hope that he could be a quality backup behind Mahogany for the future.
Speaking of Mahogany, if they can get him back for the final three games of the regular season, that would be helpful. After this upcoming week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit will play the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears, all of which have formidable defensive lines.
Before going down with a leg injury, Mahogany wasn’t great in the pass-blocking department, with 19 pressures and two sacks allowed on 259 snaps. He also has a 47.3 grade, according to PFF. However, the Lions will likely be fine living with that, as Mahogany was showing improvement in run blocking (73.4 grade), posting a grade of 83.2 or higher in two out of his last four games.
A healthy Mahogany is better than what the Lions have gotten with Awosika, who will likely be playing elsewhere in 2026.