Lions guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai, not surprisingly, likely out for the season

It’s not too surprising, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell has acknowledged that guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai will not play this season.

After a season where they never had all five projected starting offensive lineman on the field together, the Detroit Lions started off on the same foot with guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai going on IR with a back injury.

At the time, and even after surgery, head coach Dan Campbell was not willing to rule Vaitai out for the season. On Friday before practice, via Kyle Meinke of MLive, that tune finally changed.

"I would say that (his chances of playing this season) would be very slim to none as of right now,” head coach Dan Campbell said before practice on Friday. “But the surgery went well and he’s doing great. That’s just one of those long-term (injuries). If you ask me right now, I would say it’ll be hard to get him back."

Campbell did say interior offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer, who was the first candidate to replace Vaitai at right guard and went on IR himself after Week 1, could be back fairly soon.

Is Halapoulivaati Vaitai’s future in Detroit up in the air?

Vaitai was signed to a five-year, $45 million by the previous regime in Detroit in 2020. Originally at right tackle that first season as a Lion, he was moved to guard and that move was made permanent by the drafting of Penei Sewell in 2021.

Vaitai has delivered one useful, healthy season in three as a Lion. An easy-to-see overpay at the time by former general manager Bob Quinn has proven to be just that.

The Lions recently cleared $2 million in cap space this year by restructuring Vaitai’s contract. They’ve restructured his contract in each of the last two seasons.

Via Over The Cap, Vaitai now has matching cap hits of close to $12.5 million each of the next two years. The dead money hit (a little shy of $5.9 million) and the cap savings ($6.55 million) to cut him before June 1 next year are now nearly equal, with a post-June 1 cut designation clearing $9.5 million in cap space with $2.95 million in dead money.

To put it plainly, the Lions are in the market for someone who can lock down the right guard spot looking toward next year. The path to replacing him, internally, via free agency or via the draft, will determine if Vaitai sticks around (or how long he sticks around). The betting money should be on a post-June 1 cut, and at minimum he should have to compete for the starting job.