Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing just gave a pretty great answer about the teams' left guard issues ahead of Week 1, further cementing the fact that the team seems to have nailed down a decent John Morton replacement for 2026.
Petzing was asked about any potential communication issues set to besiege the Lions with their planned left guard "rotation" in Week 1 between Christian Mahogany and Ben Bartch, and he kept it very real regarding Detroit's need to keep the competition alive at that position:
"“Yeah, it's a great question. It cannot be a problem because if it is, then we're going to stop rotating because there's a breakdown, right? So, somebody's not getting it done. That's the easy answer. It's something I've done before in my career. Ultimately, I'd like to have five Hall of Famers up there that we're going to sit in there for 15 years and roll. I think the reality of the NFL though is sometimes the best thing for the team is not to do that. And it's an opportunity for those guys to continue to compete and earn their reps and to help this team win games. So, looking forward to seeing whatever that ends up looking like one way or the other kind of play out on Sunday.”"
Petzing gets honest about Lions' left guard rotation
Petzing clearly has a lot of control over this situation, and experience. He seems to be using Week 1 as a bit of an experiment at left guard, which shouldn't be a knock on the New Orleans Saints' defensive front, but more so an indication of the flexiblity that Petzing has with his offense.
With Cam Jordan out for this game, though, the Lions and Petzing could probably get a slightly better look at their left guard rotation without a ton of disruption, although New Orleans still has a few threats in Chase Young and Carl Granderson lurking on the defensive front.
READ MORE: 6 Lions players who already have their backs against the wall in Week 1
Who might win out this battle at left guard, though? Mahogany has a slight edge in that he's an investment by the Lions at this point, and he showed some flashes last season when healthy. Bartch is a wild card for Detroit, and one of their low-risk, high-reward signings in free agency.
They didn't get a chance to throw him into preseason matches due to injury, so experimenting with him on the O-line in Week 1 and potentially finding a starting left guard for the season would be a huge win.
But, there's no way for them to know he's an option without this rotation. As annoying as it is that the Lions still haven't found a solution at LG with Week 1 about to kickoff, it sounds like Petzing has an excellent hold on the competition.
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