If the season started on Sunday, Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany would be the starting guards for the Detroit Lions. Ben Batch's ongoing injury situation has removed him as a threat to Mahogany at left guard, and put his path to a spot on the 53-man roster on the ropes.
The issue is depth behind Ratledge and Mahogany. Mahogany was put on notice by Dan Campbell before training camp, but the battle for the starting job at left guard never materialized. Juice Scruggs is set to fill in at center for the injured Cade Mays, while Batch has had his injury situation and Miles Frazier has not been a factor.
On Thursday, the Lions declared they aren't satisfied with their guard depth. According to the league's transaction wire, Laken Tomlinson and Will Hernandez came to Allen Park for a workout on Thursday.
Lions have made it clear they aren't happy with their guard depth
Tomlinson is a familiar name to Lions' fans. He was their first-round pick in 2015, and in true Lions of past eras fashion he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers after two seasons and he found better success there.
In all five of his seasons as a 49er, Tomlinson was a top-40 graded guard by Pro Football Focus, culminating in a Pro Bowl season in 2021 when was PFF's 17th-highest graded guard. His performance has dropped off since, over four seasons with three teams.
After the Houston Texans waived him in early December, Tomlinson finished last season on the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. He has almost exclusively played left guard in his career, so maybe he'd be the legit competitor for Mahogany who has yet to be found.
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Hernandez is predominantly become a right guard by trade in recent years, but he spent the first three seasons of his career at left guard. He also spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, where he overlapped with Lions' offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, starting all 29 games he played over that span.
A torn ACL in 2024 delayed Hernandez's 2025 debut, then hip and knee injuries ended his campaign early. If he's healthy, being able to play both guard spots, and the tie to Petzing, makes him extra interesting as a depth option.
Workouts don't always yield a signing, of course. But the Lions sent a not-so sneaky signal just by bringing Tomlinson and Hernandez in for a look. Signing one of them would cement the message to every guard on the roster not named Ratledge.
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