Drew Petzing would rather not rotate offensive linemen.
"I'd like to have five Hall of Famers up there that we're going to sit in there for 15 years and roll," he said Thursday, Sept. 10, in Allen Park.
But after managing line rotations on multiple occasions during his three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, the Detroit Lions' first-year offensive coordinator said a left guard rotation like the one the Lions could use Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (1 p.m., Fox) could benefit the team.
"I think the reality of the NFL ... is sometimes the best thing for the team is not to [have one lineman take all the snaps]," Petzing said. "And it's an opportunity for those guys to continue to compete and earn their reps and to help this team win games. So looking forward to seeing whatever that ends up looking like one way or the other kind of play out on Sunday."
Christian Mahogany started 11 games at left guard for the Lions last season and took most of the first-team reps at the position this summer, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said he planned to rotate Mahogany and Ben Bartch at left guard in practice this week.

#like #petzing #offensive

Lions get bold Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown prediction that'd be a huge surprise originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Detroit Lions are entering the 2026 NFL season with a new offensive coordinator leading the way. Drew Petzing, who's been with the Arizona Cardinals for a while before this Lions gig, is now calling the shots on offense.
But even with change, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta should still be able to thrive. That's exactly what ESPN's Dan Graziano is predicting will happen in 2026. But in a way that would be a bit of a surprise.
Instead of St. Brown leading the offense like normal, he's predicting that Williams will wind up as the Lions' leading receiver this upcoming season. If this came true, it would be a huge surprise considering what the Lions' passing attack has looked like in recent years.
"Don't be surprised if ... Jameson Williams is the team's leading receiver," Graziano writes. "No disrespect to Amon-Ra St. Brown, one of the most consistent pass catchers in the entire league. But I think this Lions offense is going to hum this season, and Williams is the player poised to take the biggest leap."

#leading #offense

When Greg Dortch signed with the Detroit Lions in March, he seemed destined to spend the duration of the 2026 season with the team.
At the time, he was seen as a one-for-one replacement for Kalif Raymond, the scrappy slot receiver and return specialist who had just defected for the Chicago Bears at the dawn of free agency.
He also had a history of working under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who called the plays during the final three seasons of Dortch's tenure with the Arizona Cardinals.
Throughout training camp and the preseason, the 5-foot-7, 183-pound Dortch appeared to be the leading candidate for the fourth receiver role and was among the top players under consideration to serve as the Lions' primary punt returner. Then, just like that, he was dumped Sunday when the team trimmed the roster to 53 men.
After resurfacing on the Buffalo Bills practice squad earlier this week, he told a group of reporters he was blindsided by the Lions' decision.

#team #greg #raymond

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images Getty
The Detroit Lions, like all other NFL clubs, must be at the mandated 53-man roster by 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, and they've already announced multiple roster releases.
Among the players that the club has released so far include rookie DL Tyre West, DT Myles Adams, LB Troy Reeder, and TE Zach Horton.
However, another name has been announced as the club's latest release, and it will come as a surprise to some fans considering that he's already spent time playing under new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing during their time together with the Arizona Cardinals.
GettyPhoto by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

#andy

Isiah Pacheco came to Detroit with a reputation for running angry.
Drew Petzing has seen exactly that so far.
The Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator offered a glowing **** sment of Pacheco's start to training camp, praising not only his physical running style but the way he approaches every practice rep.
"He's been awesome," Petzing said. "It's the way he approaches the job, how physical and tough he is, how hard he practices and how much he cares. He can have an unbelievable practice, but if there's one repetition he didn't execute exactly the way he wanted, he beats himself up over it. He's really hard on himself. I think that's contagious. He has been fun to work with, and I'm excited to see that continue."
That is strong praise for a veteran back who joined Detroit this offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with Kansas City.

#exactly #hard

Teddy Bridgewater is back in retirement, and the Detroit Lions didn't waste any time finding his replacement.
The Lions agreed to a one-year contract with veteran quarterback Josh Dobbs on Sunday, Aug. 9, Dobbs' agent posted on social media.
Dobbs has a long history with the Lions and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He spent a month on the Lions' practice squad late in the 2022 season but did not appear in any games, and has played under Petzing in stints with the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
A fourth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017, Dobbs is 3-12 in his career as a starter. He made eight of his starts in Petzing's first year as Cardinals offensive coordinator in 2023, when Arizona acquired him in a training camp trade with the Cleveland Browns while starter Kyler Murray was recovering from knee surgery.
Dobbs, 31, completed 62.8% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions for the Cardinals.

#dobbs #cardinals #cleveland #Browns

Teddy Bridgewater is back in retirement, and the Detroit Lions didn't waste any time finding his replacement.
The Lions agreed to a one-year contract with veteran quarterback Josh Dobbs on Sunday, Aug. 9, Dobbs' agent posted on social media.
Dobbs has a long history with the Lions and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He spent a month on the Lions' practice squad late in the 2022 season but did not appear in any games, and has played under Petzing in stints with the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
A fourth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017, Dobbs is 3-12 in his career as a starter. He made eight of his starts in Petzing's first year as Cardinals offensive coordinator in 2023, when Arizona acquired him in a training camp trade with the Cleveland Browns while starter Kyler Murray was recovering from knee surgery.
Dobbs, 31, completed 62.8% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions for the Cardinals.

#dobbs #cardinals #coordinator

The Detroit Lions have already found their replacement for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, adding veteran Josh Dobbs to the roster on Sunday, according to Dobbs' agent, Mike McCartney, on social media.
Dobbs, 31, is familiar with both the team and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He spent more than two weeks on Detroit's practice squad during the 2022 season but departed when the Tennessee ****** ans signed him to the active roster just 16 days later.
Dobbs was traded to Petzing's Arizona Cardinals during the 2023 preseason and wound up starting eight games, going 1-7 in that span. He completed 62.8% of his passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions under Petzing.
The move comes just hours after Lions coach Dan Campbell announced that Bridgewater, who was expected to back up Jared Goff during the 2025 season, is stepping away from football.
Dobbs, a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017, has made 27 career appearances and 15 starts since 2018. All but three of those starts came in 2023, when he was dealt to the Minnesota Vikings at the trade deadline as an emergency replacement for the injured Kirk Cousins. Dobbs went 2-2 with the Vikings but was ultimately benched for Nick Mullens.

#lions #replacement #roster #season

Where to watch Lions preseason games 2026: Full schedule, times, TV channels, live streams for Detroit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Detroit Lions look to return to prominence in 2026 after finishing at the bottom of the NFC North a year ago.
The team remained mostly intact on offense, except for the trade of running back David Montgomery to the Texans in the offseason. That leaves Jahmyr Gibbs as the lone force in the backfield for Detroit with Jared Goff under center and receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams out wide.
Head coach Dan Campbell brought in Drew Petzing as the new offensive coordinator while retooling the offensive line following the departures of veterans Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow.
Defensively, the Lions look thin after injuries to Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph last year and the release of Terrion Arnold this offseason. The team also moved on from Alex Anzalone in free agency but drafted offensive lineman Blake Miller and edge rusher Derrick Moore in the first two rounds.

#lions #offseason #full #preferred

As part of its league-wide NFL training camp previews, ESPN took a look at the biggest storyline facing the Lions headed into the 2026 season.
ESPN's Eric Woodyard also highlighted three Lions players to watch, two key position battles and discussed Detroit's first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
ESPN also offered an initial 53-man roster projection as the Lions head into its 2026 training camp.
Here's how ESPN sees the Lions' 53-man roster shaking out prior to training camp:
QB (2): Jared Goff, Teddy Bridgewater

#camp #eric

The real ramp-up to the 2026 NFL season is nearly here. On Saturday, Detroit Lions rookies will report to training camp and then Lions veterans will arrive the following Tuesday on July 28.
With just 10 days until the Lions' training camp fan schedule begins on Sunday, Aug. 2, it's a good time to recap the offseason that was. That goes for fans that have bled every Honolulu blue second of it, and it goes for Lions fans that are looking to get back up to speed on everything they might have missed.
Let's start this 10-part series by taking a look at one of the new, key figures in the Motor City: first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
A quick look at the Lions' offensive numbers from the 2025 season looks good:
Scoring offense: 28.3 points per game (ranked tied-4th in the NFL)

#season #camp #goes #look

When the Lions fell to the 49ers 34-31 in the NFC Championship at the end of the 2023 season in heartbreaking fashion, head coach Dan Campbell addressed the team and told them that might have been their only shot. He didn’t say it was their only shot, or that he believed it was their only shot, but that it does happen that teams think they have a window when it turns out all they had was a clogged vent. Two years later, it’s looking a little like he might have been right on. The 2024 Lions went 15-2 and claimed the 1 seed in the NFC, but they got blown out by the Commanders in their lone playoff game. Last year, they fell further, going 9-8 and actually finishing last in the NFC North. Now, Jared Goff turns 32 in October. The offensive line has taken a step back. The secondary was the team’s weak spot before everything happened with Terrion Arnold. As of right now, the Lions are still the favorites in the NFC North, but the Packers and Bears are right there, and the Vikings could pop if Kyler Murray still has it. So the window isn’t closed. But if things don’t work for the Lions in 2026, the questions are really going to start up in earnest.
Four quarterbacks have finished as fantasy QB1s each of the last four years. Three of them should be pretty easy to guess — Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. The fourth is Jared Goff, who has been the QB10, QB7, QB6 and QB8 across the last four seasons. Goff is fifth in total fantasy scoring in that time, behind the other three and Lamar Jackson.
Despite all that, Goff is QB16 in early ADP this year. The reason for that is pretty simple — he doesn’t carry the ceiling of the other quarterbacks. One of Goff’s biggest virtues during is stretch of success has been healthy, because he hasn’t missed a game since 2021. In fantasy points per game, his rankings have been QB14, QB14, QB7 and QB13. But look at those numbers again. Even if you look at the numbers in the unfriendliest way for Goff, he has still outpaced his current ADP for four years in a row.
Despite all that, Goff is QB16 in early ADP this year. The reason for that is pretty simple — he doesn’t carry the ceiling of the other quarterbacks. One of Goff’s biggest virtues during is stretch of success has been healthy, because he hasn’t missed a game since 2021. In fantasy points per game, his rankings have been QB14, QB14, QB7 and QB13. But look at those numbers again. Even if you look at the numbers in the unfriendliest way for Goff, he has still outpaced his current ADP for four years in a row. At quarterback — a position where people traditionally draft only one player, hope for health, and then just find someone to fill in on the bye — availability is a phenomenal ability, and Goff provides that. John Morton proved not to be what the team wanted in replacing Ben Johnson last year, with Drew Petzing replacing him as offensive coordinator for 2026. So there’s every reason to expect the offense to bounce back in 2026, and Goff still has elite

The Detroit Lions are hoping 2026 marks a return to championship contention after a disappointing finish last season. According to ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, one offseason move could ultimately determine whether quarterback Jared Goff dominates in 2026.
Graziano believes the biggest factor isn’t a flashy free-agent signing or blockbuster trade. Instead, it comes down to whether new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing can successfully revitalize Detroit’s offense.
Last season served as a reminder of just how much continuity matters.
Following a 15-2 campaign in 2024, the Lions entered 2025 facing major changes on offense. Ben Johnson departed to become the Chicago Bears’ head coach, while Detroit also experienced significant turnover along the offensive line.
The result was an offense that never quite found its rhythm.

The Detroit Lions will be depending upon a trio of young offensive linemen in 2026.
Both guards—Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany—have double-figure starts under their belt now, but Ratledge and Mahogany are in their second and third NFL seasons, respectively. The Lions are expected to start first-round 2026 NFL Draft pick Blake Miller at right tackle.
That's a large amount of youth that will join the more experienced Penei Sewell and Cade Mays along the Lions offensive line.
With Detroit still unable to put on the pads and have live contact during OTAs, new Lions OC Drew Petzing was asked what his points of emphasis are with his young trench players during OTAs.
"Yeah, I think the big thing is the learning aspect of we're still processing, we're still running different schemes, we're still making sure that we're ****** ignment sound and know where we're going and how we're doing and can do it quickly, because the game happens fast.

Lions QB Jared Goff Gets Career News Amid NFL Offseason

Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions have work to do heading into the 2026-27 NFL season, following their 9-8 record in 2025, which kept them out of playoff contention. It was a heartbreaker to see this team fall short of getting to the postseason, especially after being No. 1 in the NFC and NFC North just one season ago.
But, that’s in the past, and the Detroit Lions are focused on the future. One of their biggest moves, of course, was bringing on offensive coordinator Drew Petzing from the Cardinals in January 2026, replacing John Morto