Lions Lose Rookie Draft Pick to Injury Until Start of 2025 Season

The Detroit Lions will have one less interior offensive lineman competing for a role in the rotation in training camp after the latest update on Miles Frazier.

Frazier — a 2025 fifth-round pick — landed on the team’s active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list when he reported for camp on July 17, but his injury designation did not specify the nature of his injury or project when he might return to the practice field.

On Tuesday, however, Lions head coach Dan Campbell explained that Frazier is dealing with a “knee” injury and that expectations are he won’t return until the regular season.

“Let’s call it September, October,” Campbell told reporters Tuesday when asked about when he expects Frazier could return to the lineup and start trying to earn his role.

Miles Frazier Vying for Guard Role in Lions’ Rotation

Before his injury, Frazier had been expected to compete for a backup role in the Lions’ interior rotation in 2025 after three standout seasons at guard for the LSU Tigers.

Frazier allowed just four sacks over his 39 career starts for the Tigers, bringing quality size (6-foot-6 and 317 pounds) and a physically imposing presence to their frontlines. While he spent most of that time (27 starts) at right guard, he started games at left guard (10) and right tackle (2) — which offers the Lions some valuable versatility.

Frazier also bolstered his case to make an early NFL impact at the 2025 Senior Bowl when his American teammates voted him their top offensive lineman of the showcase.

Instead of proving he is NFL-ready, though, Fraizer must spend the next several weeks focusing on the mental reps while his body heals, which is not unlike the trajectory of another interior lineman that the Lions drafted in 2024: Christian Mahogany.

Christian Mahogany Had a Similar Absence to Frazier

Mahogany went through something similar to what Fraizer is now dealing with back in 2024, though the circumstances were different in terms of what held his body back.

Shortly before 2024’s training camp began, doctors diagnosed Mahogany — a sixth-round pick — with infectious mononucleosis (or mono). The illness forced him to miss all of his first training camp and begin his rookie regular season on the non-football injury (NFI) list, which ruled him out for at least the first four games for the Lions.

While Mahogany returned to practice in October, the time away put him behind the sticks in terms of his body’s preparedness. He wound up not making his NFL debut for the Lions until November and, even then, played primarily special teams as a rookie. He did, however, make one start against Chicago in Week 16, playing every offensive snap.

At least in Frazier’s case, he will have a teammate he can ask about how to stay ready.

Will Miles Frazier Remain on PUP List to Start 2025?

The severity of Frazier’s knee injury is not completely known, but Campbell’s update on when he expects him back on the field suggests it won’t be a quick one for the rookie.

Does that mean Frazier will begin the 2025 season on the PUP list, though?

While it is difficult to predict given what we know so far, Campbell’s comments suggest the PUP list is likely. Even if Frazier’s knee is close to playing shape heading into the first week of the regular season, the Lions will most likely want to give him additional time to get his legs back under him and catch up on what he missed in training camp.

The downside is, if Frazier does begin the season on the PUP list, he will be required to miss the first four games of the season and cannot return to the 53-man roster until Week 5 at the earliest. That could create hardship for a Lions interior offensive line unit that lost multiple veteran contributors from its lineup during the 2025 offseason.

Frazier’s Injury Opens Door for Other Roster Hopefuls

While Frazier’s injury is not ideal, the door is now open for several of the Lions’ other roster hopefuls to earn reserve roles with their offensive line during training camp.

The Lions took some hits to their offensive interior in the offseason. Starting center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement due to injuries, while veteran guard Kevin Zeitler walked in free agency to sign a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans.

Fortunately for the Lions, they return both Mahogany and veteran Graham Glasgow and picked up former Georgia interior starter Tate Ratledge in the second round of the 2025 draft, giving them some promising options to fill out their starting lineup. Behind those three, though, things are much dicier for the Lions heading into the new season.

The Lions signed veteran guard/center Trystan Colon to help out after Ragnow retired, but the rest of their reserve options include players with fewer than four seasons of NFL experience on their resumes: Michael Niese, Kingsley Eguakun, Netane Muti and Kayode Awosika.

With Fraizer unavailable for camp, some of the other unproven linemen will have a better shot at making the 53-man roster. Whether the Lions keep things as they are or seek out additional help in free agency is unclear, though.