The Detroit Lions surprisingly benched left guard Christian Mahogany in favor of Miles Frazier in the team’s Week 9 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. The CBS broadcast reported that the lineup change was a coach’s decision.
Christian Mahogany was expected to be pushed in training camp this offseason but has been starting for the Lions most of the season.
Head coach Dan Campbell said after the game that Mahogany broke team rules.
Jared Goff has been sacked three times early in the second quarter.
Detroit Lions Surprisingly Benched Christian Mahogany For Miles Frazier
Mahogany was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. After sitting for most of his rookie year, he started 11 games in his second season. Detroit was not impressed and decided to bring in competition.
However, Ben Bartch has not been healthy, and Juice Scruggs has had to play center to replace the injured Cade Mays. So, the two names that were brought in to push Mahogany have been unable to start.
Mahogany started in Week 1, but got hurt. Bartch stepped in and started in Week 2, but he got hurt. Mahogany returned to the team in Week 3 and had been their starter since then. The Lions’ Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings was his worst in pass protection, per PFF.
Still, the team did not give any indication of a lineup change through the week.
Lions Make Lineup Change
Frazier is a 2025 fifth-round pick. He did not make any starts last year and played 46 total snaps. This year, Frazier entered Week 9 with 21 snaps. He had three in Week 5 and 18 in Week 9.
His career high in snaps in a game is 26. So, this is his first career start and will be the most snaps of his NFL career.
The Lions offense has struggled to get anything going offensively since making the change. We will see if this is a short-term benching, or if the team intends to stick with Frazier for the rest of the game and season.
The Lions offensive line has been viewed as a strength of the offense, despite a lot of shuffling. Scruggs has been better than Mays as the backup center. The tackle play has been great despite Penei Sewell switching sides and Blake Miller being a rookie.
Tate Rateledge has been solid for the team at right guard. So, the left guard has been the only question. Mahogany has not been a major issue, but Detroit is now benching him.
Lions Reveal Reason for Surprise Benching in Week 9