The Detroit Lions won’t receive any contributions from rookie guard Miles Frazier in Week 1 of the NFL season. Frazier will begin the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform List, which means Week 5 will be the earliest he can make his league debut.
But Frazier is still working hard to get back healthy and into the lineup for the Lions.
“Back 2 work,” Frazier wrote as a caption to a picture of his Lions locker he posted on his Instagram story Sunday.
The rookie guard is back at the team’s facility at Allen Park after an apparent trip to Clemson, South Carolina. Based on other photos from his social media account, Frazier attended the LSU-Clemson top 10 college football matchup Saturday night.
Frazier played at LSU from 2022-24.
The Lions selected Frazier at No. 171 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Frazier has been on the team’s PUP list throughout training camp and the preseason.
The rookie guard went on the PUP list on July 17 with an unspecified injury. Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters on July 22 that Frazier was dealing with a knee injury.
When Could Rookie Miles Frazier Return for Lions?
Because he was placed on the PUP list at the very start of training, Campbell and the Lions haven’t provided many updates to Frazier’s progress.
But on July 22, Campbell suggested it wouldn’t be long after the four-week minimum sit-out period until Frazier would be ready to return.
“Let’s call it September, October,” Campbell said when asked about Frazier’s return date.
Including Frazier, the Lions drafted two offensive linemen in the first five rounds of the 2025 Draft. During the second round, Detroit grabbed fellow interior offensive lineman Tate Ratledge at No. 57 overall.
Ratledge is expected to start at right guard in Week 1.
The Lions grabbed the pair of interior offensive linemen after three-time second-team All-Pro center Frank Ragnow retired this offseason.
Veteran Graham Glasgow, who started at guard for the Lions the past two seasons, is replacing Ragnow at center.
How Frazier Could Contribute for Lions
It’s probably going to be difficult for the fifth-round rookie to earn a starting role after not getting any repetitions in camp. But when Frazier returns, he will provide interior line depth for the team.
Further down the road, though, the Lions could slide Frazier into a starting role at guard and move Ratledge to center.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes addressed that possibility in front of reporters on August 28.
“I don’t know what the future’s going to bring. But yeah, I just think, we felt good about trying him here,” Holmes said of Ratledge, via SI on Lions’ John Maakaon. “And look, I think he could’ve handled [center] if we just could’ve left him there.
“But when you start looking at the whole combination of him and [Glasgow] and everything, I think that that was the best thing for not only the players being put in the best positions, but also for the team.”
2024 sixth-round pick Christian Mahogany is projected to be Detroit’s other starting guard to open the season. The Lions will open the season at the Green Bay Packers on September 7.
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