The injury hits keep coming for the Detroit Lions. Already down their top two offensive linemen with Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow joining starting left tackle Taylor Decker on injured reserve, the Lions might now also be without first-round rookie tackle Penei Sewell. His status for the Week 5 trip to Minnesota is in doubt after the Lions revealed Sewell is dealing with an ankle injury.
“He’s a little banged up,” head coach Dan Campbell said of Sewell before Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll find out. We’ll see where he’s at. He’ll probably be limited today if not out, and then we’ll go from there.”
Sewell has been the team’s starting left tackle in place of Decker. He was initially slated to be the starting right tackle before Decker’s finger injury before Week 1 sent the veteran to I.R. and forced the switch. Decker is not expected back in Week 5. Sewell did not have a good game in Chicago in Week 4 and an injured ankle might help explain his poor performance.
If Sewell can’t play in Minnesota, the Lions could roll with a tackle tandem of Will Holden and Matt Nelson against one of the NFL’s better pass rushes. The Vikings currently rank fourth in sack percentage at just over nine percent of opposing dropbacks.
The Lions did sign two offensive linemen to the practice squad on Wednesday and added center Ryan McCollum on Tuesday to replace Ragnow’s roster spot.
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