Behind scenes, Lions rookie Manu finding himself: 'He's using that big-ass frame of his and he's using it right'
Allen Park — During the 2024 regular season, 80 players took the field for the Detroit Lions, including 51 of the current 53-man roster and 11 of 16 on the team’s practice squad.
Signed the day after Christmas, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s lack of playing time was understandable. He dressed the final two games as the emergency quarterback, remaining behind Hendon Hooker on the depth chart to close the campaign. Maybe the two swap roles for the postseason — that remains to be seen — but the only way anyone wants Bridgewater seeing action is if the Lions unexpectedly annihilate a playoff opponent, giving them the ability to pull starter Jared Goff early.
The other Lion who hasn’t taken a snap this season is rookie offensive tackle Giovanni Manu. Drafted as a project, he’s been a healthy scratch for all 17 games, quietly being developed behind the scenes.
Detroit is enjoying a stretch of unprecedented success, at least since the inception of the Super Bowl. Coming off an NFC Championship appearance in 2023, and earning the No. 1 seed for the first time in the modern era, fans are enjoying the present more than fixating on the future for the first time since the mid-1990s.
Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lingering fascination with what’s next. And despite establishing a franchise record for victories in a season, as well as a new longest winning streak, people remain curious about what has been going on with the massive Tongan who captured the attention of NFL talent evaluators during the pre-draft process despite attending the University of British Columbia, a program about as far off the radar as a prospect can play.
Reports on Manu’s progress dried up after training camp. That’s when media is barred from watching the entirety of practice, transitioning to a truncated viewing of stretching and a handful of individual drills. Nothing meaningful beyond attendance is gleaned during those windows.
Unable to get eyes on Manu, we’re left to the observations of those not facing restriction. So ahead of the team’s first playoff game, I checked in with the player, the veterans who share his position, those he battles against daily in practice, and the assistant coach who has been closely working with him behind the scenes to paint a picture of how Manu has been coming along.