The battle for the left guard job didn’t materialize quite how he expected, but Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes is happy with the strides his new-look offensive line made during training camp.
“We're really excited about that group,” Holmes said. “Obviously, we’ve got a lot younger and a lot of guys had a lot of opportunities to grow that we were already excited for.”
The Lions entered camp with four of their offensive line starters set in left tackle Penei Sewel, center Cade Mays, right guard Tate Ratledge and right tackle Blake Miller, and they planned to have a three-man competition at left guard between returning starter Christian Mahogany and offseason acquisitions Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs.
Mahogany opened camp on the non-football
injury list but took most of the first-team reps once he returned, as Scruggs moved to center full-time after Mays suffered a wrist injury and Bartch dealt with his own injury struggles.
A part-time starter with the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers the past six years, Bartch did not take part in team drills the first two weeks of camp as he recovered from Lisfranc surgery last fall.
He missed time with a brain injury after he returned but played well in 39 snaps in the Lions’final preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. Bartch still could push for playing time if Mahogany struggles in the regular season.
“I know Bartch hasn't been out there as much, but when he was out there, he was good,” Holmes said. “He performed well, he just wasn't able to be out there as much. But I would say last week with the practices, the scrimmage and that preseason game, he earned his spot.”
In Sewell, the Lions have an anchor for their offensive line in one of the best tackles in football − he was a first-team All-Pro selection at right tackle the past three years and moved to left tackle this spring after Taylor Decker's release. Ratledge has drawn praise for his performance and is one of the Lions’ top breakout candidates this fall. And Scruggs finished camp strong after bouncing between positions early this summer.
Holmes said he was pleased with the maturation of several of the Lions’ other young linemen, too, including backup Miles Frazier – who can play both guard and both tackle spots – and Miller, their first-round pick out of Clemson who struggled at times blocking Aidan Hutchinson in camp but played well in games.
“He's gotten better and better and better every single day, which that’s kind of what we expected,” Holmes said. “We kind of like where he's at.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Brad Holmes is still 'excited' about Lions' new-look offensive line
