The Detroit Lions have a major battle going on with their offensive line to see who will make up the starting unit, and so far, there's been little clues about the direction the coaching staff could be leaning.
One of the spots that is seeing major questions is the left guard spot. Christian Mahogany is the established player with perhaps the best chance to win the job, but there are others in the mix that will be competing for attention.
Ben Bartch, signed as a free agent this offseason, was a part of that competition. Injury, however, has slowed that down. Bartch had worked back into the conversation, and was seeing reps at left guard, but was forced to sit out of Detroit's most recent practice. There was no reason given specifically for why.
At this time of year, the best ability is availability. Losing time isn't good for any player, but it's especially not good for someone like Bartch. The Lions need to figure out who is best served to start up front, and Bartch at the very least has NFL experience given his 24 starts and 55 games played in a six year career.
If Bartch misses even more time in the coming days, the Lions are likely to rely on Mahogany to pick up the slack. While many expect him to be the starter, it was a positive development to see him being pushed by a player like Bartch. That's good news for the overall depth of the roster no matter who wins the battle in the end.
Dan Campbell not ready to say who is leading the OL battles just yet
Prior to this injury setback, Campbell was fully prepared to say that the Lions were looking at Bartch at left guard. As he explained, the juggle up front in the wake of the Cade Mays injury is ongoing, but the Lions are committed to putting the best five players in the game that they can.
"This is still an ongoing battle. (Ben) Bartch is back. He'll be getting more and more reps. Letting (Christian) Mahogany and Bartch go at it over there at left guard. Obviously, we're evaluating Juice (Scruggs) at center, with Seth (McLaughlin) or is it (Tate) Ratledge? We're going to find the five best. This is an ongoing battle."
When it comes to Bartch's specific position, Mahogany has been able to make the first major statement, and Campbell was all eyes when it came to what he was able to do at the left guard spot last week.
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"Mahogany, I thought he was a physical force. When he does it right, it's pretty and it's powerful. It's explosive. In the pass game, he's got to anchor, and then sometimes it just gets a little out of sorts. So it's just the consistency of it."
Finding consistency is key for not only Mahogany, but Bartch and his health. If he can't find his way on the field during practice and the rest of the preseason games, it will be hard for him to make a convincing case that he should be a starter or even stick around.
There is time left for things to change, but as of now, Bartch has to hope he can shake his ailments. Otherwise, things will get very complicated as it relates to his place on Detroit's roster.
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