Coming into the week, the Detroit Lions were a man short of their 90-man camp roster. That is no longer a thing as they have signed veteran guard Ike Boettger to the roster on Monday.
Boettger went undrafted in 2018, but was signed by the Bills for camp. After being cut, the Chiefs claimed him and then cut him in September. The Bills then brough him back and he spent five seasons with the Bills. In 2023 he signed with the Colts. They did not bring him back after the season.
Boettger has played 36 regular season games and started 17 of them. He started all three playoff games for the Bills in 2020, including the AFC Championship game. So he has some big game experience.
In terms of what he can do in Detroit, he could make things very interesting when it comes to the offensive line depth. Right now the Lions have Christian Mahogany holding down a guard spot off the bench, but that’s really it in terms of guards.
Boettger could be a guy that provides more depth. He’s started at both left and right guard and has even played tackle. Boettger has a chance to be the Lions new Evan Brown. That was the thing that got Brown a job in Detroit every year and eventually got him a starting spot in Seattle. Versatility is important.
What could this mean at the end of the day? We’ll have to see. But if we’re galaxy braining here, the Lions will probably carry nine offensive linemen into the season this year.
There’s the guys you expect. Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zietler, Penei Sewell, Christian Mahogany and Giovanni Manu.
We wrote earlier today about how Connor Galvin could nail down the swing tackle job this summer. If he can do that, the Lions have to have some versatility with that ninth spot and Colby Sorsdal doesn’t bring that like Boettger does. Sorsdal could find himself on the practice squad. He really struggled at guard last season and some time to get used to tackle in the NFL could help.
There’s a long way to go before camp starts. Boettger could wind up not working out. We’ll follow the situation and see where it goes.