ALLEN PARK – Detroit Lions fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
ESPN reports that Penei Sewell was listed as “good” with “no issues” after spraining his ankle in practice on Wednesday. The All-Pro offensive tackle went down and left practice with a left foot injury, a team source said at the time. Sewell sat on the bench while much of the first-string offense subbed in and eventually walked back under his own power. There was a fair amount of silence on the field when the big man went down, and less than 24 hours later, that’s positive news for one of the cornerstones of this team.
The outlet adds that Sewell underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan following his injury, so this is good news all around, given that the season opener is just over two weeks away.
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Sewell signed a four-year, $112 million contract extension in the offseason after helping the Lions to a division title and an NFC title game appearance. The 23-year-old is already a first-team All-Pro player and two-time Pro Bowler with 50 starts and three playoff appearances under his belt.
Sewell allowed just one sack in 1,178 offensive snaps in 2023 – and it haunted him. He played another 142 snaps as left tackle, showed even more when Taylor Decker was injured, and then came back even better as right tackle.
Pro Football Focus ranked Sewell as the best of all offensive tackles during the regular season and postseason. He was the best in run blocking and ranked 16th in pass blocking. According to ESPN, Sewell also had the sixth-best pass block win rate among offensive linemen. He’s one of the key players getting this contender rolling, and it seems like he should be in a good position as the preseason draws to a close.
