New Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson offered glowing praise of his team’s offensive line at the NFL combine last week, saying the unit has “the ability to be dominant up front.”
“Not just good, but dominant,” Johnson said. “I think those guys over the course of last year showed at one point in time, all five of the starters and even the guys that played that were more backup types to start the year, they showed the ability to be not just be a good unit but one of the best in the NFL.”
WHAT TO DO IN FREE AGENCY? Lions in good shape at running back
The Lions return all five starters on their offensive line for 2022 and have tendered swing tackle Matt Nelson an exclusive rights free agent contract, leaving them with little work to be done heading into free agency next week.
They have one of the best tackle tandems in the league in Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker and Pro Bowl-caliber starters at center (Frank Ragnow) and left guard (Jonah Jackson).
Evan Brown, who started most of last season at center in place of an injured Ragnow, is a restricted free agent but there is mutual interest in bringing him back. And the rest of the Lions’ top reserves — Tommy Kraemer, Logan Stenberg and Ryan McCollum — are under team control as well.
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The Lions still need backup depth as a line is only as good as its weakest link. If they do not tender Brown a contract — a right of first refusal tender is around $2.5 million — and he leaves in free agency, adding a backup center is a must. And it’s unclear if Tyrell Crosby will play in 2022 after missing all of last season with back surgery.
But with holes to address at receiver, tight end and across the defense, the Lions are not expected to be heavily involved in the offensive line market in free agency and could wait to do anything significant at the position until the draft.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Free agent OL report
Top free agents: OT — Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints; Duane Brown, Seattle Seahawks; Trent Brown, New England Patriots. IOL — Brandon Scherff, Washington Commanders; Ryan Jensen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Laken Tomlinson, San Francisco 49ers.
Others who may interest Lions: Rashod Hill, Minnesota Vikings.
Market watch: Armstead is one of the best players on the market regardless of position and should fetch a handsome contract in free agency. He’s never played 16 games in a season and underwent knee surgery in January, but at 30 years old he still has the potential to anchor an offensive line. The Browns, no relation, come with their share of questions — Duane is 36, and Trent has been mediocre outside of New England — but good tackles are hard to find so they will be in demand, too. Joseph Noteboom should get starter money somewhere after playing as the Los Angeles Rams’ swing tackle.
The real strength of the offensive line free agent class, however, is the interior line group. Scherff finally will hit free agency at 30 years old after two years of being franchise tagged, and Jensen (at center), Tomlinson, Austin Corbett, Alex Cappa and Andrew Norwell are among the other veteran starters who could be changing teams. Outside of potentially Scherff, none of those players is a difference maker. But teams looking to upgrade their front at least have options.