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Detroit Lions OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai has back surgery, status unknown for season

The Detroit Lions have their first long-term injury loss of the 2022 NFL season.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai had back surgery in Dallas on Tuesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said, and his status for the rest of the year is now up in the air.

"That's (something) to monitor," Campbell said Wednesday. "He certainly will be out for a little while here, but we're not ruling out that he's done for the season."

Vaitai, the Lions' starting right guard, was placed on injured reserve Sept. 5, which ruled him out for at least the first four games. He has had different ailments in his tenure with Detroit, missing six games with a foot injury in 2020 and two games in 2021 − one with COVID-19, the other due to a brain injury.

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Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58) talks to  offensive guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (72) during warmups Friday, Aug, 13, 2021 before a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in Detroit.
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58) talks to offensive guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (72) during warmups Friday, Aug, 13, 2021 before a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in Detroit.

This could be the second consecutive season where the Lions don't play a single game with all five offensive linemen healthy. In 2021, left tackle Taylor Decker started the year hurt, and by the time he was back, center Frank Ragnow was lost for the season.

"You're definitely going to miss Big V, it's always hard to replace," Lions OL coach Hank Farley said. "He's in great spirits, I've been texting with him, he's just saying 'I'll be ready to go coach' so I can't wait for him. He's great for the room too. He's the big teddy bear in the room, honestly. Big V is the loose, childish kind of guy that we love in our room, every O-line room needs one and that's him, but when he gets on the field it's a different story, he's moving people.

"But I always look at it for the next guy in ... that's the mentality of the O-line room."

That next guy is Logan Stenberg, a 2020 fourth-round pick from Kentucky who made his first career start start in place of Vaitai in Week 1 vs. Philadelphia. The advanced numbers showed he didn't fare well: He ceded four of the Lions' 11 quarterback pressures to the Eagles' defense, and his 0.0 pass blocking grade per Pro Football Focus was the lowest of any offensive lineman in the league.

But Campbell said while within the game there were ups and downs, overall "it was a positive."

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The poor rating largely had to do with three bad snaps − two on the first drive where he had consecutive false starts inside the red zone (though the Lions still got a touchdown on the drive) − and another four possessions later when he was beat on a defensive line stunt, which forced a quick throw from quarterback Jared Goff that ended in a pick-six.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) and guard Logan Stenberg (71) fist bump after a first down against the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field, Sept. 11, 2022.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) and guard Logan Stenberg (71) fist bump after a first down against the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field, Sept. 11, 2022.

"There's always going to be things to clean up," Fraley said. "He had some really good plays that he had in there that you love, and some things that he can work on. More technique issues that critics, writers whatever, reporters, might say, 'Oh he got crushed,' but normally a lot of times O-line play is more about what did you do wrong?

Fraley, a former longtime center in the NFL, shared the story of how in his first career start with the Eagles, he left a snap short for quarterback Donovan McNabb on the first play. It was recovered by the defense and the opponent scored two plays later.

It's why he loved what he saw following Stenberg's first series. Fraley said he was ready to tear into the youngster about how his two false stars nearly cost the team a touchdown, but the leaders of the line wouldn't let him get that far.

"You can't imagine how pissed off I was," Fraley said. "The O-line when they're coming off, I'm eyeing Logan, I'm just eyeing him, and we scored so it made it feel a little different, but the vets running by me were just like 'let him go.'

"That's what you've got to love about the group because they were just like 'let him go', so I was like 'okay' and I just told him don't let it happen again."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Detroit Lions guard, has back surgery