Jason Fox vs. Corey Hilliard at right tackle

When the Detroit Lions open Organized Team Activities next week, the biggest position battle will be at right tackle.

Gosder Cherilus is gone after five seasons, off to Indianapolis as a free agent, and Jason Fox and Corey Hilliard are in a two-man competition to replace him. Hilliard said the starting job is “a toss-up” for now and something neither player is consumed with.

“It’s going to be a tough competition, and me and Fox are good friends,” he told the Free Press last week. “We don’t ever talk about it. We’ve built such a good friendship over the years, but we both kind of know what it is. One of us is going to start.”

The Lions are still auditioning for help at offensive tackle. They worked out Winston Justice among other linemen last week, and general manager Martin Mayhew said after the draft that he hoped to add a veteran to the mix.

But Hilliard and Fox both have played well in small doses in recent years, and Lions coaches have publicly expressed confidence in that pairing every chance they’ve had this off-season.

New offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn even had Fox, not veterans Dominic Raiola nor Rob Sims, reach out to rookie third-round pick Larry Warford after the draft. Warford is expected to start at right guard this fall.

“It’s still a long way from the season, and (Corey’s) a great guy,” Fox said. “He’s a great player, and it’s going to be fun competing with him, and who knows, we both could be on the field at the same time. At this point right now, we’re competing, but you’re also focusing on yourself and getting better as a football player.”
Both Fox and Hilliard have had limited playing time in their careers.

A fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) in 2010, Fox was slowed his rookie season by college knee surgery and missed time the following year with foot and knee injuries. He played one half of one game on offense in 2010, and has appeared in just one game since, on special teams.

Still, Hilliard said Fox was retired left tackle Jeff Backus’ “right-hand man” last year.

“Very smart,” Hilliard said. “He’s so intellectual. People don’t get that, either. He knows his X’s and O’s just about as good as anybody. ... When Jeff would come off to the sideline, he’d go right to Fox and be like, ‘What’d you see?’ There’s a reason they drafted him all those years back.”

There’s a reason the Lions re-signed Hilliard before the start of free agency, too.

Hilliard didn’t dress for a game last year but he has shown steady improvement since the Lions signed him off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad in 2009. He started four games at right tackle in 2010, after Cherilus underwent microfracture knee surgery, and one more a year later, when Cherilus was benched for disciplinary reasons.

“We all got big shoes to fill,” Hilliard said. “Left tackle, right guard, a lot of opportunities for a lot of people. A lot of people have to step up, show what they’re really made of.”


(freep.com)