Dan Campbell says Christian Mahogany 'very close' to starting his return

Rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany has been sidelined for months on the non-football illness list after battling mononucleosis over the summer. On Saturday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered up a positive note on Mahogany potentially getting back onto the active roster in the near future.

Campbell was asked about the status of Mahogany and also defensive tackle Brodric Martin, who is also out with an injury that happened in training camp.

“Yeah, (GM) Brad (Holmes) and I will talk about that, but they’re – I know Mahogany’s very close. He’s very close for us to have that conversation of, what time is it to begin to start his clock? But obviously they’re both doing well, healing up, getting better, and I would say Mahogany’s closer than Brodric is.”

The Lions have a bye in Week 5 after the Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks. Because they are off for a full week, there is no need to start the reactivation clock for Mahogany until the team regroups to start Week 6. Once the team designates Mahogany (and Martin) for return, the Lions have three weeks to either activate the player or lose him for the rest of the season.