Detroit Lions place guard Logan Stenberg on injured reserve

The Lions injury woes continue.

The Detroit Lions announced that they have placed reserve guard Logan Stenberg on Injured Reserve on Monday. Stenberg will miss at least the next three weeks with an undisclosed injury and will be eligible to return to the active roster in Week 11 at the earliest.

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, Stenberg rarely saw the field as a rookie, but improved play this past offseason earned him a spot on the active roster and he has been played in every game this season. Despite being active all seven games, Stenberg has only played on 23 snaps, and only four of those were on offense as a sixth offensive lineman in big sets.

With Evan Brown starting at center in place of the injured Frank Ragnow, Stenberg was presumed to be the primary reserve on the interior offensive line. But beyond insurance for Jonah Jackson and Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Stenberg was also one of eight active offensive linemen on game days. This is significant because the NFL has a rule that allows teams to expand their game day rosters from 46 to 48 players if eight of those players are offensive linemen.

Now with Stenberg on IR, the Lions only have seven active offensive linemen, meaning they no longer qualify for the roster expansion rule. Therefore, look for the Lions to sign another offensive lineman to the active roster in order to bring them back up to eight players.

The most likely options for this promotion are undrafted rookie Tommy Kraemer and Parker Ehinger, both of whom are currently on the Lions practice squad. It’s also possible the Lions look to free agency to add another offensive lineman, even if it’s only to fill a role on the practice squad, allowing the team to have two complete lines to utilize during practices.