Getty Penei Sewell playing tackle for the Lions against San Francisco in 2021.
The Detroit Lions have had bad injury luck in the last few weeks that continues, but the good news is their fortunes could start to turn in a huge way starting in Week 6.
Taylor Decker, who started the season on injured reserve thanks to a freak hand injury in the first week of practice, could come back. But where will the left tackle play? According to head coach Dan Campbell, the answer could figure to be an easy one for the team.
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Speaking to the media, Campbell said that the likely decision would be to move Penei Sewell back to right tackle and bring Decker back to the left side, a thought that was passed along on Twitter by Chris Burke of The Athletic.
During the press conference on with the media Monday, October 11, Campbell admitted that he was optimistic that the team will get Decker back on the field, and there was hope to see him on the practice field Wednesday coming off injury.
“I think there’s hope. We’re going to see where Decker’s at Wednesday, and at least that’s where we’ll begin,” Campbell said.
Sewell has played the right side for the better part of a month to account for the loss of Decker, but it appears the team is confident in him making a quick switch.
Campbell Explains Recent Struggles of Sewell
Without Decker, the Lions have had to rely on Sewell on the left side. The rookie has been solid, but in the last few weeks, he’s struggled. On Sunday, Sewell gave up a pair of important sacks to Everson Griffen to help in stalling a couple of Lions drives, and as a whole, the sample size suddenly has not looked great for the young tackle.
Campbell explained that Sewell has still been learning on the job and dealing with different rushers, but he could still use a bit of help from the coaching staff to get over this rough patch.
“I think, when he got in that game early he was getting out of his stance so fast that he was oversetting. Look Griffin, he’s still got plenty of curve balls left,” Campbell said. “He may not be able to play 60 plays a game, but for the 20 he goes in there, he’s got some rush ability and he’s a different type of rusher and he’s low to the ground. He’s totally different than what (Robert) Quinn was last week. So I go back to, every one of these looks he gets he’s going to be better for. Now, he’s got to be able to adjust a lot faster that he did in that game. It took him a while and then he thought he had him and then he got beat. I do think we got to do some things to help him just a little bit to get him going again. I do think he’ll learn and be good for it.”
As Campbell said, Sewell has a winning mindset which proves to him that he will continue to be on the right track as a pro.
“I could tell last week I knew he wanted to play because he wanted redemption. That’s the way he’s built and I love him for it,” Campbell said. “He was mad. And I know he’ll be mad about this, and if you talk about giving him help he will be pissed about that, ‘I don’t need help.’ But I do think we need to settle him back in. We’ll get him going here but I love the way he’s built and he will, he’ll be better for it.”
Former Offensive Linemen Thought Sewell Was ‘Left Tackle’ for Lions
Former linemen may disagree with this decision by the team to potentially move Sewell back to the right side. NFL Network analyst and former league offensive lineman Brian Baldinger hopped on Twitter and provided a quick analysis on what makes Sewell so good up front. Specifically, he said he believes Sewell looks more comfortable on the left side than the right side thanks to his play against Bosa and the 49ers.
“Penei Sewell looks just so much better on the left side than he does on the right side,” Baldinger says in the clip. “He’s going agains Nick Bosa here and he had some rough moments in the game but this is Penei Sewell at his best right here. Bosa’s got a little leverage on him but he’s got his hands in the right spot, digs them out. (Jared) Goff is throwing the ball and look where Bosa’s at. He’s got him on the Lions logo right there and he stays with him. Sewell, I know they got him on the right side and I know why he’s over to the left. But that natural kick, athlete, using his strength right here, dropping the anchor. No doubt he had some rough moments, but he also had some good moments like that one.”
Baldinger is far from the only one who believes Sewell should be playing the left side of the line in Detroit. In the opener, Lions had to move Sewell over in an emergency to left tackle, his natural position in college. According to former offensive lineman and analyst Geoff Schwartz, they may have found something with this switch. After a mere quarter played out for Sewell, Schwartz had seen enough to say that he believed the team had their new left tackle of the future in the former Oregon Duck.
This much is clear after one quarter of action in the NFL. Penei Sewell is the Lions new LT.
What the Lions decide to do with Sewell will remain a question, because the team does have Taylor Decker entrenched on the left side, and Decker just signed an extension with Detroit last year and played well in 2020. Decker has only played the left side since being picked by Detroit in the 2016 NFL draft, so whether or nor he would move at this stage of his career remains to be seen. It is an interesting thought to remember nevertheless, though.
At this point, the Lions look set on putting Sewell back to the right side when Decker returns. Whether that remains the case throughout will be interesting to see long-term.
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