Lions OL Penei Sewell Banged Up Heading into Vikings Matchup

The Detroit Lions are dealing with a myriad of injuries along their offensive line.

Down two starting offensive linemen already, the Detroit Lions’ depth has been tested early in the 2021 season.

Starters Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker are both on injured reserve, with the former being placed there on Tuesday. 

On Wednesday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters that rookie left tackle Penei Sewell is also dealing with an ankle injury.

Campbell said Sewell will be limited, at best, at practice Wednesday and his status for the Lions' Week 5 game with the Minnesota Vikings is uncertain.

“We’ll see where he’s at,” Campbell said. “He’ll probably be limited today, if not out, and then, we’ll go from there.”

Ragnow, meanwhile, has been placed on injured reserve, after suffering a turf toe injury, along with EDGE Romeo Okwara. While Okwara’s injury is season-ending, Ragnow is not expected to be out the rest of the year.

He will, however, miss at least the next three games. The earliest Ragnow could be back in action is Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Lions are still missing Decker, their starting left tackle, who went on injured reserve before the season opener. He is now eligible to return once healthy. 

On Monday, Campbell said it is “highly unlikely” that Decker returns to play against the Vikings.

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‘Not as far away’

One of the redeeming qualities about the Lions through their season-opening struggles has been their ability to be competitive late in games. This was the case against the Chicago Bears in Week 4, where late fireworks from the offense weren’t enough.

Right now, for Campbell and Co., the focus is on doing what it takes to beat their opponents. He said the team has put together good gameplans, but hasn’t fully executed them.

“It’s a point of emphasis,” Campbell said. “Like, ‘Listen, guys, we gotta go back to work and focus on what we have to focus on. If we want to beat this team, this is what we have to do.’” If you go back to what we say before every game about what we have to do to win, it’s been true. But, we haven’t done those things.”

Despite starting the season as one of two winless teams in the league through four weeks, Campbell stayed optimistic that his team is on the right track.

“Look, 0-4 stings, but at the same time, we’re not as far away as it appears to be,” Campbell said. “I just bring it up again, we were two plays away last week. You could argue we were two plays away from winning that game. That’s nothing against Chicago. It’s (a) credit to them. They’re a good team. But, we are not as far away as it appears to be.”

Notes

The Lions have made two roster additions to help combat all the injuries, signing center Ryan McCollum from the Texans' practice squad and EDGE defender Jessie Lemonier off their own.

Lemonier spent last season and the ensuing offseason with the Los Angeles Chargers and head coach Anthony Lynn, who is now the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Lemonier played in six games, while flipping from the active roster to the practice squad last season.

McCollum, meanwhile, spent the 2021 preseason with Houston, and played 78 snaps at center. He didn’t make the final cut, but was immediately signed to the team’s practice squad.

Now, with the Lions needing offensive line help, McCollum is heading to the active roster.

“We think he’s a pretty smart guy,” Campbell said. “So, we wanted to make sure, especially knowing Frank’s gonna be down for a really long time, to have a guy, a true center that can help back up Evan (Brown).”

The Lions also removed kicker Austin Siebert from the reserve/COVID-19 list, and released wide receiver Javon McKinley from the practice squad. 

Detroit also made two additions to the practice squad, signing EDGE defender Rashod Berry and offensive lineman Parker Ehinger.