Hal Vaitai has been fighting an uphill battle since he was signed by the Detroit Lions in the 2020 offseason.
It started when former general manager Bob Quinn gave Vaitai a five-year, $45 million contract, well above expectations for a career backup who had just 20 starts with the Philadelphia Eagles. But the Lions liked his positional versatility and the fact that he played left tackle during the Eagles Super Bowl run in 2018.
Making matters worse, with the heavy monetary investment in Vaitai, the Lions could no longer afford fan-favorite, and top-10 guard Graham Glasgow—someone many had been watching for the previous eight seasons, four with the Lions and four with the Michigan Wolverines—and he signed a lucrative contract with the Denver Broncos.