DFN mailbag, Part 2: Injury outlooks, Lions' all-time o-line and the future of the podcast

If you loved Part I of this week’s mailbag, you’re going to love Part II (hopefully).

Q: Will last season’s injuries still play a major factor this year? What’s the timeline for guys like Rodrigo, McNeill, Barnes, Wingo, and pretty much everyone else who were sidelined last year? — @terbybickford75

Q: How is Khalil Dorsey’s recovery going? — Jan Shuart

Justin: Only in the sense that a small number will linger into this season. Malcolm Rodriguez and Alim McNeill are unlikely to be ready to go until midseason. On the other hand, I expect Derrick Barnes and Mekhi Wingo to be available for Week 1. Barnes was close at the end of last season, and Wingo was well on the road to recovery after surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

I don’t have an update on Dorsey. His injury was similar to Hutchinson’s but occurred two months later in the year. That doesn’t mean the recovery will be exactly two months longer. There are nuances with bone breaks, and each body heals differently. Still, the fact that he received a two-year contract this offseason hints that the team is optimistic about the prognosis.

Q: Should the Lions give Bryce Perkins a tryout? — @GreeneTorkelson

Justin: I don’t see the harm in bringing in the Michigan Panthers standout for a workout if only to get an up-close look, but there’s no need to use a roster spot on a fourth quarterback who wouldn’t see any reps in practice or the preseason.

Interestingly, the Rams signed Perkins as an undrafted rookie when Brad Holmes was still the team’s college scouting director, so there’s already some level of familiarity.

Q: There's a story from Chris Burke that's sat in my brain for years now because it was a fascinating look into the life of a head coach during the offseason. It's the story where he flew with Matt Patricia to a coaching clinic in Alabama. It was just an article about following him and detailing the entire trip (if you don't remember it).

How do these types of stories and access to a coach like this come about for a beat writer? Is it something you have to come up with and pitch to the team, or did the team approach Chris about this opportunity? Do you have any story ideas you'd like to pitch to the team? — Nick Olah

Justin: I don't know how that particular story came about. I can't speak to whether it was a proposal from The Athletic or Burke, or something the Lions presented as an opportunity because they felt The Athletic's long-form format would be an ideal fit.

The team doesn't often make pitches like this, but they can arise from a broader request for access opportunities to an individual. My requests are typically specific. I pitch somewhere between 10-20 stories a year because they require access to individuals I can't interview without the team granting permission.

Honestly, most fail to get greenlit. Sometimes, it's because the ask is too ambitious — like trying to watch the mock interview video that first put Holmes on the team's radar — while with others, there's a reluctance from individuals to participate. That requires me to either approach it from a different angle or move on to the next.

However, every once in a while, everything comes together perfectly, and you get something like last year's Rob Lohman feature.

Q: Regarding film, do you have any insight into how it is made available to the players? Is there some giant database of film with applicable metadata (like players involved, type of play, team etc...)? — Justin Khami

Justin: Each team employs an in-house crew that chops up the tape, play-by-play, immediately after the game. It's made sortable in multiple ways, extending beyond the types you mention.

That’s uploaded to a database that players can access through team-issued tablets. They have access to their film, their opponents’ film, and an extensive historical catalog. They can also request specific cutups.

Q: Did the Lions know about Ragnow's retirement when they let Zeitler leave? — @Kyle_Katarn586

Justin: They didn't know Ragnow was going to retire because that decision wasn't formalized until later in the offseason. While I don't know the exact timetable regarding how Ragnow's thinking evolved this spring. There is a strong chance that the team and player discussed the possibility before free agency and definitely ahead of the draft.

Q: If the interior of the o-line is a weakness, what realistic schemes can be run to protect it? — Dennis Grey

Justin: I’m not sure if it was in the previous mailbag where this was discussed, but the biggest adjustment the Lions could incorporate is more quick-strike passing plays, where Jared Goff gets the ball out in under 2.5 seconds.

Given the YAC potential of the quarterback’s arsenal, that wouldn’t necessarily be a negative.

Q: Does Brodric Martin make the cut again? — @Sub3BFish

Justin: I maintain what I've been saying since the addition of Roy Lopez in free agency; the third-year defensive tackle is firmly on the bubble. The Lions have a wealth of interior options, and the room got more crowded with the team using its first-round pick on Tyleik Williams.

Martin will have to show meaningful development in camp to justify a spot. The team already has five jobs spoken for between Williams, Levi Onwuzurike, DJ Reader, Lopez and Wingo. Also in the mix is Pat O'Connor, who had more impact than Martin last season.

Q: When’s the podcast coming back? — @crap.town

Justin: We’re intending to fire it back up to start the season. The planning was admittedly poor this offseason from a scheduling standpoint. If the pod continues in its current form, we need to be better next year.

That said, it’s not a lock that it will continue in its current format. Presently, it makes no money. That’s a hit I can absorb, but it’s not reasonable to expect Will to tack it on at the end of a long day for minimum wage pay. The same for Stoney, who was recording with me after those primetime games at 2:30 a.m.

If Audacy doesn’t find a sponsor this year, we will likely pull the plug at the end of the season. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop doing multimedia. However, I’ll probably lean into the same independence I have with the Detroit Football Network rather than partnering with a corporate entity.

Q: If you had to estimate how much of the playbook was purely Ben Johnson vs. collaboration with other coaches vs. Dan Campbell, what would the split be? — Anthony Kuehn

Justin: Ben Johnson wasn't necessarily designing plays. He was incorporating plays and philosophies he learned as both a player and a lower-level assistant. There were pieces of many playbooks in his scheme, including a heavy dose of the West Coast offense, which former Lions coordinator Darrell Bevell utilized. That will have a significant overlap with John Morton's background, as well.

What made Johnson a great coordinator wasn't the plays as much as it was his demand for precision, his ability to game plan and attack opponents' weaknesses, his ability to build on concepts throughout a game and a season, his connection with players that allowed him to adjust to meet their preferences, and a knack for calling the right plays at the right time.

The plays matter, but not nearly as much as the ability to game plan and the timing of the calls.

Q: What is the Lions' all-time starting offensive line? — @JasonPevitt

Justin: Great and difficult question. A good one to close on, for sure.

There are different ways to approach this, but I want to focus on dominance within their era. It's not fair to assume we could drop someone from the 1950s into the modern game and think they'd be able to compete.

LT: Lomas Brown

Brown was named to the Pro Bowl his final six seasons with Detroit, including first-team All-Pro honors in 1995 and two second-team selections during that stretch.

LG: Lou Creekmur

I'm cheating a little bit here because Creekmur spent most of his career at left tackle, playing only his first two seasons at guard. He was an ironman, playing in more than 160 consecutive games and earning All-Pro recognition for eight straight years. He's one of only a handful of offensive linemen in franchise history to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

C: Frank Ragnow

Recency bias? Maybe a little, but Ragnow edges out a group of strong contenders that includes two-time All-Pro Alex Wojciechowicz, four-time Pro Bowler Ed Flanigan, and another modern-era stud, Kevin Glover, who scored three Pro Bowl nods blocking for Barry Sanders.

The only thing Ragnow doesn't have on some of those other greats is longevity, but the recent retiree was smart, physically dominant and as tough as they come, earning four Pro Bowl and three second-team All-Pro selections.

RG: John Gordy

I almost went with Larry Warford, who was both a great run blocker and pass protector as a four-year starter for the Lions. However, all of his accolades came after his departure, with three consecutive Pro Bowl selections as a member of the Saints. Instead, we'll stick with Gordy, who was named to Detroit's 75th anniversary team in 2008.

Gordy spent his entire career with the Lions, starting 128 games. He was named to three Pro Bowls and got first-team and second-team All-Pro recognition from UPI and AP.

RT: Penei Sewell

No disrespect to some of the other contenders, but Sewell is already the most talented and dominant right tackle to ever lace them up for the Lions. He's a rare athlete who opens up the playbook in ways linemen rarely do. In five seasons, he's already earned first-team All-Pro honors twice. He has legitimate Hall of Fame potential if he continues to perform at his current level for another five or so seasons.