Detroit Lions OL healthy for the first time since Week 1: ‘It’s time to put on a show’

The Detroit Lions will have their regular starting offensive line on the field Sunday for the first time since Week 1, and Jonah Jackson said the key to keeping them there is simple.

“Keep those 335-pound men off your ankle,” Jackson said.

Jackson knows the pain that can cause from personal experience.

The Lions’ starting left guard, Jackson missed the past three games with a high ankle sprain he suffered on the second offensive series of the Lions’ Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers, when defensive tackle Derrick Brown fell on his ankle during a run play.

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Jackson limped his way back to the huddle and finished out the game on adrenaline, but spent the past month rehabbing. He said his ankle “feels good” now, and he’s expected to start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“I was getting some heavy FOMO (fear of missing out),” Jackson said. “It was getting bad, so I’m real excited to be back out there with the guys. They were holding it down while I was out so it’s time for me to come back in and hold up my end of the bargain.”

The Lions have started seven different offensive line combinations in eight games this year, but still rank in the top six in the NFL in sack percentage (fifth) and rushing yards (sixth).

Right tackle Penei Sewell is the only Lion to have played every offensive snap this season, and he made two starts at left tackle when Taylor Decker was out with a high ankle sprain. Center Frank Ragnow returned to practice Tuesday after missing the Lions’ Week 8 game with calf and toe injuries, and Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who opened the season at right guard, has missed time with knee and back injuries.

Graham Glasgow, who has started games at all three interior line positions, has since replaced Vaitai in the starting lineup.

Jackson said Glasgow is “playing some of the best ball in the room” and praised fellow backups Kayode Awosika and Colby Sorsdal for their work as fill-ins.

“It just goes to show the standard we hold ourselves to in that room,” he said. “The next man up mentality’s huge.”

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And he said he’s looking forward to seeing what the line can do now that everyone is healthy.

“We’re finally back,” Jackson said. “The band’s back together. It’s time to put on a show.”

Jackson, running back David Montgomery, and center Frank Ragnow all took part in the open portion of practice Tuesday and are on track to return Sunday. Montgomery has missed two games with multiple rib injuries, Jackson sat out three weeks with a high ankle sprain and Ragnow did not play against the Raiders because of a calf injury. The Lions will release their first injury report of the week Wednesday.

Onwuzurike’s time ‘will come’

Levi Onwuzurike was a healthy scratch the past two games and largely a nonfactor the six weeks before that, but Lions defensive line coach John Scott insists he still is bullish on the third-year defensive tackle’s future.

“With Levi I think we sometimes forget, Levi basically missed a year and a half of football,” Scott said Tuesday. “That’s a huge learning curve when you’re not able to get out on the field, so Levi’s another guy that he has some great talent and we see progression every day.”

A second-round pick out of Washington in 2021, Onwuzurike missed most of training camp as a rookie and all of the regular season last year with a back injury that seems to have zapped his ability as a pass rusher.

He has two tackles and no quarterback pressures in 66 defensive snaps this season, and has not played since the Lions’ Oct. 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It’ll come for Levi, he has to continue to work and he has to continue to show it in practice, which he’s doing,” Scott said. “And better yet, when you get that opportunity, you have to show that in the games as well, cause ultimately as you guys all know, that’s the ultimate measuring stick. People want to see wins and losses and how you perform on that stage, so those are all the things that he’s working at.”

The Lions have juggled personnel on their interior defensive line behind Alim McNeill and Benito Jones all season.

Onwuzurike, 25, opened the season as the No. 3 interior lineman, but did not record a tackle in the Lions’ first three games. Isaiah Buggs has been the team’s most impactful backup interior lineman with two tackles for loss and one sack in five games. Rookie third-round pick Brodric Martin made his NFL debut in the Lions’ last game before the bye against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Lions (6-2) are committed to getting Martin more reps to speed his development, but Scott said there still is room for Onwuzurike in the playing rotation.

“Again, I am pleased at where he is,” Scott said. “It’ll come for him.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.