DETROIT -- Despite earning first-team AP All-Pro honors for the third straight year, Penei Sewell was disappointed as he stood before reporters during an emotional locker room cleanout in January.
As he entered the offseason following a lackluster 9-8 season for the Detroit Lions, the offensive lineman was open for change.
So when coach Dan Campbell approached him about switching from right tackle to left tackle for the 2026 season, he accepted the challenge.
“This year wasn’t my best ball. It was far from that,” Sewell said on Jan. 5. “And I’m a firm believer it starts up front.
“I believe that I’m going to set the tone and make plays that typically O-linemen don’t make, so this year was definitely a down year for me.”
When the Lions reported to the Meijer Performance Center for the start of the offseason training program in late May, Sewell was all business in his new role. He hasn’t played left tackle on a full-time basis since his college days at Oregon in 2018 and 2019 -- when he was named the 2019 Outland Trophy Winner as the NCAA’s top interior lineman.
So far, in his NFL career, he has played 647 regular-season snaps at left tackle -- mostly in 2021 -- one at right guard and 4,619 snaps at right tackle, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
“Will it be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be,” Campbell said. “But I mean he has played left. That’s muscle memory.
“He played a lot of left in college and for us for those games in ’21. And he still took reps at left even over the last five years, so that’ll be seamless. Sewell can do it all.”
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Sewell’s quaterback pressure rate allowed was 9.3% as a rookie at left tackle in 2021 (ranking 79th of 95 with 500-plus pass block plays), and since then it has been 7% at right tackle (ranking 45th of 110 players with 1,500 pass block plays).
“It’s just different,” Sewell said. “You’re switching your whole stance and everything, but it is what it is.
“At the end of the day, you just watch film. Right now, it’s still kind of early so I’m just kind of focusing on myself. As the season goes on, I’ll watch other players and see what they do and take notes.”
Former Lions center Frank Ragnow spent four seasons alongside Sewell from 2021 to 2024 before abruptly retiring last summer after pushing through multiple injuries. He said he anticipated the early process being “extremely difficult” for Sewell. But as Sewell makes the transition, Ragnow said he was confident in Sewell’s skill set to make the change seamlessly.
“There’s so much muscle memory. There’s so much balance of weight disposition that you have to kind of, I guess reteach yourself, but it’s Penei Sewell,” Ragnow said, smiling. “So, I’m not too worried.”
Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller, who was the No. 17 pick in last spring’s draft, will replace Sewell at right tackle.
Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley said he was also appreciative of Sewell’s flexibility within the unit as the Lions are looking to reestablish a level of consistency that was the foundation for Detroit’s team-record 15 wins in 2024.
Last season, Detroit’s O-line had the second-worst pass block win rate in the NFL (56%), ahead of only the Chargers (54%).
“Everybody knows he’s a very good athlete, he takes pride in his work and it’s just ironing out some of that stuff, the timing of this punch,” Fraley said. “You’ve got to break old habits, and a lot of it’s footwork, balance, weight distribution.
“You’re used to a right-handed stance, now you’re getting in a left constantly, but it’s building those habits now. Breaking old ones, building new ones now and being comfortable there.”
