Currently one of two remaining winless teams, the Lions could use some sort of spark heading into their Week Six matchup with the Bengals.
They may get it from left tackle Taylor Decker’s return.
Decker hasn’t played at all this season after injuring a finger in practice just before the start of the season. He’s slated to get back on the field this week and when he does, he’ll likely slide back into his familiar position. The Lions have been playing No. 7 overall pick Penei Sewell at left tackle in Decker’s place, but they’ll likely flip the rookie over to the right side.
“I think right now the thought would be to move Decker back into his slot at left tackle and move Penei back to right tackle. That’s tentatively what I think is the way that we’re talking about going,” head coach Dan Campbell said on Monday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “We’ll have a meeting this afternoon and really dive into all that stuff. We’re still cleaning up the game, but we will. That’s where I think we would lean certainly.”
Sewell had some success early on at left tackle, but has allowed four sacks from that spot in the last two games. Quarterback Jared Goff has fumbled on two of them.
“I do think we’ve got to do some things to help him, just a little bit to get him going again,” Campbell said. “I do think he’ll learn and be good for him. Look, I could tell last week I knew he wanted to play just cause he wanted redemption. That’s the way he’s built and I love that about him. He was mad, and I know he’ll be mad about this. And if you talk about giving him help, he’ll be pissed off about that, like, ‘I don’t need help.’ But I do think we need to just settle him back in. We’ll get him going here.”