Lions guard Graham Glasgow looking forward to opportunity to start vs. Falcons

As he surveyed his options after being cut by the Denver Broncos last offseason, Graham Glasgow prioritized a return the Detroit Lions, the team that drafted him. He was indeed signed, as a hypothetical replacement for the versatile Evan Brown but also as competition for Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right guard.

With Frank Ragnow managing his toe issue, Glasgow saw significant snaps at center during training camp. He acknowledged the challenge inherent in trying to compete for a starting job while taking snaps at another spot, trivial as it may seem.

Vaitai will be out for Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, and perhaps longer, after suffering a knee injury against the Seahawks in Week 2. So Glasgow is going to start at right guard in "Big V's" absence.

Justin Rogers of the Detroit News caught up with Glasgow this week. He was candid about the aforementioned camp battle, but he's also looking forward to starting on Sunday.

Graham Glasgow candid about disappointment with camp battle, but excited for opportunity to start

On how the camp battle with Vaitai turned out, here's what Glasgow told Rogers.

"I was pretty upset," Glasgow said. "I felt like I was more upset about it because I had played so much center. At the end of the day, I had to do it. That's unfortunately the way things are, but it's also kind of the reason they brought me back. That's just the way it shook out and I was upset; I was pissed off. At a point, I'm not saying you have to move on, but you, well, I guess you do have to move on and focus on other things."

Glasgow said he voiced his displeasure with how the competition with Vaitai turned out. If anything, it probably adhered him to the coaching staff more.

Glasgow indeed shifted his focus, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has referred to him as the sixth starter on the Lions' offensive line. Now, with Vaitai's absence at least one game but looking likely to be a fair bit longer, the opportunity to being among the starting is here for Glasgow against a formidable interior defensive line for Atlanta.

"It means a lot," Glasgow said. "This week in general is a really good test. I didn't really know much about their team until I was looking it up yesterday. They've got Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata and Calais Campbell. These are good players. I know they've always had Jarrett, but I didn't know they'd added the other two. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be some good competition and I'm looking forward to having a good week."

The Lions depth will be tested, amid a laundry list of injuries coming out of Week 2. But there should be little, if any, noticeable drop-off from Vaitai to Glasgow.