Christian Mahogany will return as the Lions’ starting left guard on Sunday, a week after his benching for a violation of team rules.
Mahogany apologized to the team Wednesday morning and was back with the first-team offense in the afternoon.
Coach Dan Campbell has said only that Mahogany broke a team rule “multiple times,” but did not elaborate. Mahogany wouldn’t either when he spoke Wednesday.
“I’m not going to [say what the rule was] either. I’m not going to disobey him,” Mahogany said, via Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket. “It sucks what happened, but I have to grow up, and I have to stop breaking team rules. It is what it is. I let my teammates down. I let my organization down, and it won’t ever happen again.”
Campbell’s four team rules are: Don’t be late; keep your weight in check; don’t disrespect your teammates, and don’t disrespect the game. Mahogany first landed in trouble in training camp when he was briefly placed on the non-football injury list.
His absence in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins was noticeable as his replacement, Miles Frazier, had a rough afternoon.
“You just gotta eat it on the chin,” Mahogany said of his benching. “That’s who I am. I’m not a person that’s gonna sulk. It sucked not being out there, because I let my teammates down. I don’t want to do that. I did, and that’s on me.”