In a very strange turn of events, just hours after taking part in the Detroit Lions’ first training camp practice of the year, reserve offensive tackle Giovanni Manu has been placed on the Non-Football Injury list.
Manu didn’t appear to suffer an injury during Wednesday’s practice, and even if he had, it would not be considered a Non-Football Injury. So either Manu suffered an injury prior to practice and tried to fight through it on Wednesday or he suffered an injury after practice in a non-football
setting. Either way, it’s highly irregular to see a player placed on the active/NFI list after participating in a training camp practice.
It’s a tough development for Manu, who has an uphill battle to land a spot on the 53-man roster after Detroit drafted Blake Miller in the first round and signed free agent veteran Larry Borom as solid, experienced depth this offseason. Manu was repping with the second-team offense at left tackle on Wednesday.
While Manu is out, the Lions will likely rely on Borom, Devin Cochran, and Colby Sorsdal to play with the reserves.
The good news for Manu is that because he is now on the active/Non-Football Injury list, he is still eligible to come off the list and return to practice at any time. Hopefully we’ll get some clarity on his situation during Dan Campbell’s morning press conference on Thursday.
