Getty Logan Stenberg on the field against the Rams in 2021.
Logan Stenberg will be staying in the NFC North after his release by the Detroit Lions.
The veteran was waived by the Lions on August 10, and claimed by the Chicago Bears off waivers the following day. Stenberg had struggled in training camp for Detroit, but now has the chance to compete for a reserve position in Chicago.
#Bears roster move:
We have waived WR Aron Cruickshank and claimed OL Logan Stenberg off waivers.
Stenberg Fizzled Out in Detroit
Stenberg joined the Lions as a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but struggled to find a spot on the line. His first career start did not come until last season, when he was tapped to replace the injured Halapoulivaati Vaitai in a September 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stenberg had a rough start, committing back-to-back false start penalties in the team’s opening drive, and earned a 25.9 overall offensive grade from Pro Football Focus for the game.
The struggles continued to this training camp, with Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire noting that Stenberg saw a pair of rookies surpass him on the depth chart.
“He’d been repping all of training camp with the final group of offensive linemen,” Risdon wrote. “Stenberg had fallen behind, among others, fifth-round rookie Colby Sorsdal and undrafted rookie Brad Cecil in the training camp pecking order.”
Report: The Lions are waiving OL Logan Stenberg t.co/gFfnQf4rT8 via @thelionswire
Stenberg will face more competition in Chicago, with the Bears using first- and second-round draft picks on offensive lineman this year.
“Stenberg will fight for roster spots and reps against the likes of Teven Jenkins, Braxton Jones, Larry Borom, Alex Leatherwood, Robert Haskins and Gabriel Houy,” reported Benjamin Raven of MLive.com. Leatherwood (Round 1, 2021) and Jenkins (Round 2, 2021) are two former early-round tackle selections moving inside on the offensive line, so there is a fair amount of draft capital jockeying for positioning.”
The Bears are at the top of the waiver order until the third week of the regular season, so they had the first crack at claiming Stenberg.
Lions Making Changes to the Line
The Lions have made other moves to their line this offseason, signing veteran guard Bobby Hart before Stenberg’s release.
As Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk noted, Hart comes to the Lions with plenty of experience, with 45 starts for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2018-2020 and another 20 starts for the New York Giants from 2016-2017.
“Hart, who turns 29 later this month, spent most of the last two seasons with Buffalo. Last year he appeared in 15 games and played 125 offensive snaps, mainly as an extra blocker. he also played 77 special teams snaps,” Simmons noted.
As Christian Booher of SI.com’s All Lions noted, the offensive line’s health will be the biggest question mark for the 2023 season. Vaitai is returning after missing the 2022 season with a back injury and will be competing to take his job back from Graham Glasgow.
Rookie Colby Sorsdal is also expected to compete for a position at guard, and earned some praise from draft analyst Brian Baldinger. The NFL Network analyst said before the draft that Sorsdal has the potential to grow into an NFL starter.
“William & Mary’s Colby Sorsdal is a day three prospect who wasn’t invited to the combine was has four critical components; he has size, he has experience, moves very well; and most of all he has toughness. Good looking prospect to me,” Baldinger wrote in the tweet.