The Lions didn't necessarily give Larry Borom $5 million to sit on the bench. They consider the longtime swing tackle a potential starter for them in 2026. That was the answer from Brad Holmes this week on the Lions Collective.
"Yeah," said Holmes, when asked if the Lions view Borom as capable of starting. "He’s started a lot of games, yeah."
The Lions could very well still take a tackle with their first pick in the draft. Clemson's Blake Miller, Utah's Caleb Lomu and Alabama's Kadyn Proctor are possible targets at No. 17 overall, as well as Georgia's Monroe Freeling if he's still available as Detroit's pick draws near. That would likely bump Borom into a more suitable role as a backup. That was the role he was slated to play for the Dolphins last season before an injury to their starting right tackle Austin Jackson in Week 1 forced Borom into the job for the next two months until Jackson returned.
But based on how Borom played across 11 starts at right tackle, the Lions sound comfortable with the idea of starting him there this season -- and bouncing Penei Sewell to left tackle after the loss of Taylor Decker.
"Looking at Larry Borom, man, obviously did a lot of work on him coming out in the draft process (in 2021). When he was in Chicago, had a lot of exposure to him playing a lot of different spots. But seeing what he did at Miami, especially at right tackle, and then when you start looking at the film, like, man, this is probably about the most consistent ball that I've seen him play," said Holmes.
That compelled the Lions to "start taking a deeper dive of him at right tackle, even in the past," said Holmes. "And you start seeing this level of consistency versus the guard spots or the left tackle spot. And not saying that he can't play those spots, too — because he can — but that's what kept him up there for us."
All of Borom's 664 snaps last season came at right tackle, which was his primary position in college and where he started 15 games for the Bears over his first two NFL seasons. His three highest-graded seasons in the NFL, per PFF, have, indeed, come when he's logged the bulk of his snaps at right tackle. He had much less success on the left side in 2023 and 2024.
If the Lions start Borom at right tackle in 2026, they won't think twice about flipping Sewell to left tackle, where he won the Outland Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the country in his final season at Oregon. That was now seven years ago, but the Lions believe Sewell has the athleticism to make the switch rather seamlessly. He also started eight games for Detroit at left tackle in 2021 and two in 2023 when Decker was injured.
"I think that's the beauty of having a player like him, is that you always have that flexibility of the possibility of him playing left tackle," said Holmes. "He's done it before. It’s not anything foreign to him. Even as we're going through free agency, we weren't really pigeonholed, like, 'We gotta get the left tackle.' We're like, what's the best tackle for us? And then we'll kind of adjust as needed."
And ultimately, the value of a one-year, $5 million deal for Borom made sense for the Lions, who aren't in position to hand out multiple long-term deals to expensive free agents as they plan for another wave of extensions over the next year. Next up are Jack Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch, their top draft picks from 2023.
"Again, there are constraints, so you have to always weigh in that as well, in terms of the player and his ability and as a fit, and then it was a player that we were able to fit from a financial standpoint as well," said Holmes.
