The Detroit Lions’ offensive line hit rock bottom in 2025, and Dan Campbell believes his best lineman can fix it by switching sides.
Detroit finished 30th in pass block win rate and 20th in run block win rate last season, a jarring decline for a unit that had been among the league’s best.
Why Dan Campbell Believes Penei Sewell Can Switch to Left Tackle
Campbell addressed the problem at the annual league meeting on Monday by revealing his preference to move three-time All-Pro Penei Sewell from right tackle to left tackle.
“That’s easy. I’ve talked to him,” Campbell said. “We’re ready to do that, if need be. I don’t want to say that right now I’m going to commit to that, but that’s, I mean, we’re ready to do that. And all he wants is a couple of days is to work his left hand in the stance a little bit.”
The Lions head coach added that the transition should come naturally for his star lineman. “It’s a little bit like riding a bike for him,” Campbell continued. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. He’ll bank some reps and be able to do it. He gives us that flexibility. If you’re asking me, I’d like to move him. I would. I would like to move him to left.”
The confidence isn’t blind faith. Campbell watched Sewell handle the same situation as a rookie in 2021 when Taylor Decker went down with an injury.
“It’s big. You don’t get that everywhere with every player. But it also shows how special he is. And he’s done it, because he’s done that before. He’s played left before,” Campbell said. “Hell, his first year here with us when Decker went down, he played left.”
“As a rookie, he banked real reps against real guys at left tackle. Adapt, adjust and he goes to right. There will be a little rust, maybe at first, but he’s going to be fine. The guy is phenomenal and he’s going to work on it until he gets it to the way he wants to where it feels like the right side.”
Sewell has logged 647 regular-season snaps at left tackle in his career, including a start at Kansas City in Week 6 last season. His pressure rate allowed was 9.3% as a rookie on the left side and has dropped to 7% since settling in at right tackle.
According to PFSN’s NFL Player OL Impact Metric, Sewell finished last season as the second-best offensive lineman in the league with an impact score of 93.0.
Detroit Lions’ Offensive Line Rebuild and Offseason Moves
The Lions revamped their offensive line this offseason after the unit finished 16th in the league last season, according to PFSN’s Team OL Impact Metric. Decker, the team’s longest-tenured player, was released after contract negotiations broke down following his initial retirement deliberations. Veteran Graham Glasgow was also cut in cap-saving moves.
The personnel changes extend beyond the trenches. Detroit traded David Montgomery to Houston for interior lineman Juice Scruggs and draft picks, then signed former Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco on a one-year, $1.81 million deal to pair with Jahmyr Gibbs.
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John Morton lasted just one season as offensive coordinator before being fired, with Drew Petzing arriving from Arizona to install a new system.
Detroit addressed the line in free agency by signing center Cade Mays to a three-year deal, adding tackle Larry Borom and guard Ben Bartch. But none of those moves solved the blindside problem created by Decker’s departure.
Moving Sewell does as the 25-year-old won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman at Oregon in 2019, playing left tackle for the Ducks. His four-year, $112 million extension signed in 2024 averages $28 million annually, a figure that aligned with right tackle money at the time but fits comfortably among the league’s top left tackle contracts.
The Lions hold the 17th pick in next month’s draft, likely too late to land an elite blindside prospect. Finding a replacement right tackle to fill Sewell’s vacated spot represents a far easier path than searching for a plug-and-play left tackle.
