Christian Mahogany has dug himself mostly out of the doghouse after he got a late start to training camp because of a failed physical, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell isn’t ready to name Mahogany his starting left guard yet.
“This is still an ongoing battle,” Campbell said before practice Saturday, Aug. 15.
Mahogany has taken nearly all the first-team reps at left guard since the Lions activated him from the non-football injury list July 31.
Ben Bartch, Mahogany’s top competition for the job, was limited to position drills early in camp in his recovery from Lisfranc surgery, while Juice Scruggs returned to practice Saturday from a soft-tissue injury and is working with the first-team offense at center in Cade Mays’ absence.
Campbell said the
Lions will start “the five best” linemen in whatever configuration and plan to spend the final two weeks of camp evaluating their options.
Seth McLaughlin also could replace Mays at center, and Campbell said right guard Tate Ratledge will get some work at the position in case he’s needed to snap. Ratledge played center at the beginning of training camp last summer before switching back to the position he played in college.
“I don't know how much we'll do in team, but certainly we're going to be snapping him some pre-practice,” Campbell said. “And then he's been going through some of the calls, things like that. So we're just prepared. We've got to be willing to go wherever we can go with this.”
The Lions prioritized adding depth to their offensive line this offseason. They signed Mays to start at center, but he’ll miss the start of the season with a wrist injury. They added Scruggs via trade to be their top interior backup and signed Bartch to push Mahogany for the left guard job.
Mahogany started 11 games at left guard for the Lions last season but missed time with a fractured left fibula and had bouts of inconsistency when he was on the field. Bartch was a part-time starter with the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers the past six seasons.
Campbell singled out Mahogany for his play in the Lions’ preseason-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, when he played the entire first half and was flagged for two penalties. Bartch did not play against the Bengals in his return from injury, and the Lions sat starters Ratledge and Penei Sewell.
Rookie right tackle Blake Miller was the only other projected starting offensive lineman to see the field for the Lions.
“I thought he was a physical force,” Campbell said of Mahogany. “And when he does it right, it's pretty and it's powerful. It's explosive. And in the pass game, he's got anchor. And then sometimes it just gets a little out of sorts. So it's just the consistency of it.”
The Lions host the Washington Commanders in their second preseason game Saturday, Aug. 22., and close exhibition play a week later against the Indianapolis Colts.
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: Can 'physical force' Christian Mahogany win Lions' starting LG job?
