Who will Buccaneers play at right guard vs. Lions?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading into Detroit for a tough matchup against the Lions, and there's a looming question they'll have to answer before that game — who will start at right guard?

That would normally be Luke Haggard, who has filled in at the role since Week 3 of the regular season after a season-ending injury to incumbent starter Cody Mauch, but now Haggard is hurt with a shoulder injury and will not play. Haggard has allowed three pressures on 151 pass blocking snaps, so he's played admirably in the role, but the Bucs will need someone else to step up in Week 7.

So who will it be? As it stands, the Buccaneers and head coach Todd Bowles have two options. Here are the players they could go with on Monday against the Lions:

Elijah Klein

With Haggard out, lineman Elijah Klein stepped in for Haggard when he went out against the 49ers last Sunday. Klein finished that game and also played left guard in Week 3 opposite of Haggard during the team's wacky offensive line setup before Tristan Wirfs returned. As a result, he's had some experience this year, but it's been a tale of two players.

Klein has been very good in pass blocking so far — per Pro Football Focus, Klein has let up zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and just two pressures in 44 pass-blocking snaps, getting a PFF pass-blocking grade of 80.6. They are significantly less impressed with his run blocking, though, as he has an abysmal 29.9 grade that puts him second-to-last among all qualifying guards. The Bucs like to run the football, so that might be a bit of a problem.

Klein was a sixth-round pick in 2024, and he's come along very well since then and can do a lot of different things for the Bucs. He may well be the pick to once again deputize Haggard on Monday night, but there's another option the Buccaneers can go with if they so choose.

Michael Jordan

Carolina Panthers guard Mike Jordan takes the field during the first quarter — Carolina Panthers guard Mike Jordan (73) takes the field during the first quarter between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Michael Jordan (not the one you're thinking of) has started at guard for the Buccaneers before — he did so to start the year for the team's first two games whenever the team had Graham Barton at left tackle and Ben Bredeson at center. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury after the team's game against the Houston Texans, and he's been largely unavailable since then.

That might change this week, though, as he is practicing and could be Haggard's replacement on Monday night. He's played good football overall, netting a 65.8 overall grade from PFF and a very good 80.9 pass blocking grade this year with no sacks allowed, no quarterback hits allowed and four pressures in 90 pass-blocking snaps. His run blocking grade leaves a tad to be desired at 55.9, but the Bucs can work around that.

If those statistics are anything to go by, Jordan might be the better choice to fill in at right guard than Klein would be due to his better run blocking prowess and experience in the league, having started 42 games in six years. But only the Buccaneers will truly know what the game plan is on that account, and we'll find out soon enough when the Buccaneers face off against the Lions at 7 p.m. on Monday.

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