The Detroit Lions have joint practices scheduled with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants this summer, and one insider believes the sessions could also serve as something of an audition for a lineman likely to end up on the trade block.
Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire suggested that the Lions are ready to part ways with offensive lineman Logan Stenberg, who has struggled with penalties and inconsistent play since joining the team as a fourth-round pick in 2020. Risdon believes that with new competition added to the position this offseason, Stenberg will be playing for a different team by the end of the summer.
New Depth Will Doom Logan Stenberg
Risdon noted that Stenberg has likely only lasted this long in Detroit due to the team’s lack of depth at offensive line, without enough competition to challenge his spot as the 8th or 9th lineman on the roster. But that will likely change this summer after the team used a fifth-round draft pick on Colby Sorsdal and added veteran Germain Ifedi to the mix this offseason.
The Lions likely have plans to move on from Stenberg before the season starts, Risdon speculated.
Logan Stenberg in 2018 & 2019:
601 Pass-block snaps
0 Sacks allowed
“My personal belief is that the joint practice sessions with the Jaguars and Giants are de facto auditions for Stenberg to wind up on one of those rosters in some manner,” he wrote. “Be it a trade for a conditional draft pick or a place where he can go after being waived by the Lions during roster cutdowns, that scenario seems more likely than Stenberg sticking for a fourth season in Detroit.”
Risdon added that Stenberg would need to “cease his endemic holding in pass protection” in order to have a chance of making the final 53-man roster, which could be a tall task given his lack of mobility that is the root cause of the problem.
Stenberg hit a low point in a September loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, when he committed two false start penalties on a single drive. After the game, he earned a public rebuke from offensive line coach Hank Fraley.
“You can’t imagine how pissed off I was over it, but we got to stay just like this, we got to stay even-keeled,” Fraley said after the game, via the Detroit Free Press. “I’m just eyeing Logan, I’m eyeing him, and we scored so it made it felt a little different. …. But the vets running by me were like, ‘Let him go.’ And that’s what you got to love about the group, cause they’re like, ‘That’s our guy. Let him go.’ I’m like, ‘OK. All right.’ Only thing I told him, ‘Don’t let it happen again.’ And he didn’t get it the rest of the game.”
More Competition Coming
Stenberg could have even more competition this summer with the expected return of veteran Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who suffered a season-ending back injury in the team’s preseason finale last year. Vaitai said he considered retirement during his long layoff, but ultimately decided to return to his teammates.
“I can’t leave Penei (Sewell). I can’t leave all my guys. I can’t leave them,” Vaitai said, via SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit. “I love this team a lot. I’m going to help Dan (Campbell) win one.”
Vaitai also offered to serve as a mentor for the rookie Sorsdal, which could give Stenberg that much steeper of a challenge in making the final roster.
“I’m trying to give (Sorsdal) all the things I’ve known and the knowledge I’ve known over the years, so that way I can help him,” Vaitai said. “So when his time is ready, he should be prepared.”
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Lions Expected to Part Ways With Disappointing 2020 Draft Pick