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Lions' Sewell practicing at LT to replace injured Decker
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Lions' Penei Sewell practicing at LT to replace injured Taylor Decker

The Detroit Lions locked starting left tackle Taylor Decker down on a multi-year extension last September but then spent the seventh-overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft on Oregon Ducks star tackle Penei Sewell. Detroit originally planned to move Sewell from the left side of the offensive line to the right, but that was before Decker found himself dealing with a finger injury ahead of Sunday's regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers that, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit, could potentially require surgery to repair. 

As Nick Shook noted for the NFL's website, Sewell has practiced at left tackle over the team's past two sessions and could be asked to start at that position Sunday.

Sewell making the transition back to left tackle may not be as simple as some assume. He admitted in May shifting to the line's right side was "not that easy" and had "a whole different feel," so he spent the bulk of the summer months learning how to play what he thought would be his new position. 

Asking the first-year pro to "unlearn" such vital lessons at the 11th hour ahead of his official debut could ultimately doom head coach Dan Campbell on Sunday, but Campbell may feel he doesn't have much of a choice so close to kickoff. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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