Despite a need on the offensive line, Brad Holmes and the Lions stood pat at Tuesday's trade deadline other than to add a rookie to their practice squad.
The deadline passed at 4 p.m. with the Lions still looking at a major hole at left guard after losing Christian Mahogany to a knee injury until at least late December and feeling the strain of age and/or injuries across the offensive line.
The Lions did sign offensive lineman Jack Conley to their practice squad. Conley went undrafted this year out of Boston College, where he played both guard and tackle, exclusively right guard last season. He spent the first month of this season on the practice squad of the Patriots before being released.
In addition to Mahogany, the Lions have left tackle Taylor Decker nursing shoulder and knee injuries and right tackle Penei Sewell nursing a shoulder injury, though neither one is expected to miss much time, if any. Rookie right guard Tate Ratledge also injured his shoulder last week but should be fine, while center Graham Glasgow is coming off one of his worst games of the season.
Asked Tuesday morning about targeting an offensive lineman on the trade market, Campbell said the Lions have "looked there, for sure."
"Anything that we feel like would upgrade us," he said, while noting that "if the price isn’t right, it’s not going to happen."
The price for offensive linemen wasn't right for many teams, apparently: only one was traded at the deadline. The Chargers acquired tackle Trevor Penning from the Saints at the last minute in exchange for draft-pick compensation. Penning was a first-round pick in 2022 who was bumped to guard this year in New Orleans.
Midseason trades involving offensive linemen are extremely rare in the NFL, "because it's hard to get rid of ‘em if you’re the other team," said Campbell. "So if you are, you’re going to ask an astronomical amount because the later the season goes, it’s hard to find bigs. They don’t just fall off trees, especially tackles."
The Lions' solution might be reshuffling some of the pieces on the interior. While Kayode Awoski is still a candidate to step in for Mahogany, as he did in Detroit's loss to the Vikings, Campbell is also considering using Trystan Colon at center and bumping Glasgow to left guard, where he played -- but not all that well -- last season.
One thing the Lions weren't going to do ahead of Tuesday's deadline was make a trade for the sake of keeping up with a fellow NFC contender like the Eagles. The reigning Super Bowl champs made several moves in the past few days for the likes of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips of the Dolphins and defensive back Michael Carter II of the Jets.
"I’ll be honest with you, that’s never crossed my mind, trying to keep up with somebody in a trade war," said Campbell. "I don’t see it that way. Look, they made moves that they feel like are good for them and it was worth it for them. And that’s good, man. To each team his own. But we’re going to do what we feel like is right for us and the right fit at the right price with the right guys. And we’ve always been that way. We’re not changing our stripes."