Obviously, this could have the same meaning for the Bengals, Miami (Tua Blindside), or the Lions.
“Entrenched LT”
“Puts him at RT for a year”
How entrenched is the LT if he loses his job after 1 year?
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Too entrenched perhaps … Like the Maginot O-Line
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While it sounds stupid, there are LT’s who can’t transition to RT. In this years draft it’s Alaric Jackson, LT from IOWA. IOWA wanted Tristan Wirfs to play LT but Jackson couldn’t make the transition to RT. There were people who thought this meant that Jackson was the better player, which was hardly the case. Wirfs was the 4th OT taken in the draft last year but was far and away the best. Sewell is smart to be showing his ability to adapt.
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Maybe the kid is just motivated to be the best player he can be? If a Coach asked him to play RT, he can say, “I’ve prepared for this, I’ll be ready Coach!”.
Sewell is just an athlete training and trying to become a better Offensive Linemen. Nothing more, nothing less.
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The best thing to happen to me in this regard was having an offensive lineman explain it in detail. It was Brad Hopkins on NFL radio. Basically he described how the stance is different, the footwork is different, the hand placement is different and which legs and hands need to be your “dominant” ones are different. Some guys are equally adept at both, while some guys are really good at one but not the other.
Brad was more detailed in his description of how different it can be, but those were the basics. After he ran it down I realized I am more of a natural RT than a LT. Everything about how a RT stands, drops back and uses his hands is natural to me. Just sitting in the living room pretending to be a LT seems awkward and would require some work. I’m more comfortable keeping my balance while moving back like a RT with my right leg back than keeping my balance moving back like a LT with my left foot back.
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Or maybe perhaps he’s concerned that Slater who is more known for versatility, is said to be breathing down his back as the top tackle!!
Perhaps entrenched enough to be a good EXPERIENCED LT that is less talented than the rookie, but won’t be as prone to the total mental screw up that gets your QB carted off the field. The thought process of course is that after a year of seeing it and learning, the talent will overtake the current LT and will be far less prone to the mental error. A QB seeing that mental error coming from the right side provides a better chance of living through the error, as opposed to it coming from the blind side. It’s all quite logical and there is not another positional group where stacking talent provides such high rewards. Both giving your QB time to let downfield routes develop and a dominant rushing attack.
Imagine US being what every other team DID to us last year because we stopped the rush, giving our QB all day to throw, and running on them at will. You know how futile it felt watching that happen to our defense. A great oline can make us do that to playoff teams. That is the 3 year goal. What is going on with Decker 3 years from now, may be a very different thing. If he’s a RT, cool, Sewell at LT isn’t even very expensive yet. We can fill out other areas just fine by then IMO. It’s not life or death that we have to take JaMarr Chase.
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Entrenched could be a vet, aged 29+, with a contract that prevents them from moving on this season but could fetch a nice return next offseason if you slide Sewell over to LT
Yep it’s funny how some think it’s so easy to just switch from left to right or right to left. I have been saying it for a while now. It is really hard for a lot of players to switch, mainly because of what you are saying. The drop steps, the punch and hand work, everything is opposite. I know 30+ years ago when I played, my fellow lineman hated when coach would make us switch sides and we would struggle.
Lots of former NFL lineman have said the same over the years. Yet fans think, lets just draft a LT and plug him on the right side, like he is a computer or something
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I agree it’s not easy. But it’s more than “fans thinking,” it’s the large data set of it occurring erry single year and in many many cases, working. I think a guy like Sewell or Leatherwood will do fine on the right side being an impact player day one as any high pick non-QB should be. If we were to get one of those guys we bring them in to camp, give all the OTs snaps at left and right tackle and you put the best guys in the best spots. If Decker moves to RT, so be it. If someone wants to say Crosby (who used to play on the left side at Oregon too BTW…) would be our best RT option if we added Sewell or Leatherwood, I’ve got some oceanfront in Indiana for you. It’s weird initially but with repetition most do fine. If you can move you can move.
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So we either have a RT that was drafted way too high or a RT that makes too much money. Brilliant!
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Thank You, Jason Whitlock !!!.. 
See and I think Parsons with Teven Jenkins or Liam Eichenberg is better haul than hoping Sewel or Leatherwood can make the transition…that’s just my preference, I don’t like spending draft picks on prospects that maybe able to transition when we can spend picks on guys that can offer a lot of the same things and a lower cost, while getting a high quality defender