Pride of Detroit
Colby Sorsdal, the Detroit Lions’ 2023 fifth-round pick, is entering a make-or-break training camp.
Entering his third year with the Detroit Lions, versatile offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal is facing a make-or-break situation.
Sorsdal is somewhat of a development project for the Lions. The team selected the former member of the William & Mary Tribe in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and expected him to mold into a key depth piece for the offensive line.
Previous previews: QB Jared Goff, RB Sione Vaki, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Jameson Williams, WR Kalif Raymond, TE Sam LaPorta, OT Giovanni Manu, G Graham Glasgow, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Brodric Martin, DL Pat O’Connor, LB Malcolm Rodriguez, LB Grant Stuard, CB Ennis Rakestraw, K Jake Bates
During his rookie season in 2023, Sorsdal was a key depth player who started two games at right guard and one at left guard. He exclusively played right tackle at William & Mary but he began cross-training at both guard and center during his pre-draft process. Entering the 2024 season, Sorsdal was expected to compete for the backup jobs at both tackle and guard.
In June of 2024, offensive line coach Hank Fraley stated that Sorsdal was “taking the right steps” and that the team was going to try him in a variety of positions on the line “because he’s gifted enough to do it.”
Preseason
3 games (3 starts)
Stats: 194 snaps played, 1 penalty, 3 sacks allowed, 6 pressures allowed
PFF offensive grade: 64.1 (78th out of 176 qualifying OTs)
PFF pass blocking grade: 68.5 (86th out of 176)
PFF run blocking grade: 60.5 (86th out of 176)
Regular season
1 game (5 special teams snaps)
Despite being part of the starting unit for the entirety of the preseason, Sorsdal struggled when it came to seeing the field during the regular season. He suited up for just four games throughout the season but never took the field on offense, even when injuries began to pile up on the offensive line. It is a bit concerning for Sorsdal that Detroit did not have him active for games where Taylor Decker, Kevin Zeitler, and Graham Glasgow sat out with injuries, and instead opted for players such as Kayode Awosika, Jamarco Jones, Christian Mahogany, Michael Niese, and Dan Skipper to fill in instead.
Sorsdal ended up taking a small handful of reps on special teams but even then, he was kept off of the field in favor of the aforementioned players.
Every player that Detroit played over Sorsdal will be returning to Detroit for 2025, and the team added even more competition with rookies Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier. Sorsdal now seems to be on the outside looking in when it comes to making the 53-man roster.
While his versatility to play both tackle and guard would usually be a benefit, the issue here is that Awosika, Jones, Skipper, and...
