Getty Drew Forbes playing with Cleveland in 2021.
The Detroit Lions have had good luck with injuries this offseason in terms of starters, but that luck has run out more than a bit heading into Week 1 of the season.
Detroit is facing a new injury, and it’s to offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai. On Monday, September 5, the team revealed that they had placed Vaitai on the reserve/injured list ahead of the start of the season.
As part of the corresponding move, the team added offensive lineman Drew Forbes off waivers. Forbes was previously with the Cleveland Browns, but had been released hours before.
#Lions announced that they have been assigned OL Drew Forbes via waivers from Cleveland and placed OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai on Reserve/Injured
“Lions announced that they have been assigned OL Drew Forbes via waivers from Cleveland and placed OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai on Reserve/Injured,” the team tweeted.
The loss of Vaitai is significant for the Detroit depth up front. The Lions have a solid guard rotation, however, and those players will be asked to step up in his absence. It’s likely Tommy Kraemer is the first man up in this situation, and the team also has Logan Stenberg on the roster for depth’s sake in addition to Forbes.
Vaitai will be on the shelf now for at least the first four weeks of the 2022 season, putting pressure on the rest of Detroit’s veterans to stay healthy and consistent early on.
Forbes’ Stats & Highlights
The move for Detroit to claim Forbes quickly makes sense, because the Lions have the former general manager that picked him up in Cleveland working in their front office in John Dorsey.
Forbes was a 2019 sixth-round pick of the Browns out of Southeast Missouri State. He battled a knee injury early in his career in 2019, and was an opt-out of the 2020 season. He sustained another knee injury in 2021 that cost him time. As a result, Forbes only has played in two career NFL games thus far in his career.
Here’s a look at some of Forbes’ tape from college:
Obviously, the Lions won’t be depending on Forbes dramatically given their other depth at guard, but he is a quality backup option for the team to be able to rely on at this point. At the very least, the team thinks they may have found something in the depth he could provide and how he cold develop.
Vaitai Major Piece for Lions’ Line Depth
Losing Vaitai this early in the season represents an early direct blow to Detroit’s potentially elite offensive line ahead of the 2022 season.
Last year, Vaitai enjoyed a solid bounce-back year and is looking forward to continuing to impact the game in a big way for 2022. He’s a solid player in the ground game and also against the pass. If he is lost for a long stretch in 2022, the team might see a slide in productivity given his importance.
It’s good to see Kraemer and Stenberg being thought of highly, as he played games in 2021 and didn’t look overmatched at times. Still, the team will want to see Vaitai back as soon as possible off any potential injury.
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