INDIANAPOLIS — Travis Swanson was playing the best football of his young career before his 2016 season got sidetracked by a concussion suffered Week 13. Detroit's starting center missed the rest of the season due to the injury, including their playoff loss in Seattle.
But Swanson has been cleared to return to the field.
"Yep, he's cleared," Lions general manager Bob Quinn confirmed to reporters at the Combine. "He's ready to go. He's full participation in the offseason program."
A third-round pick out of Arkansas in 2014, Swanson became a full-time starter in 2015 to mixed results.
But he was one of Detroit's most steady players upfront this past season until the time of his injury. He allowed just two sacks and three quarterback hits, and earned a positive run-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus in 12 games.
Quinn used a third-round pick last year on Graham Glasgow to compete with Swanson. Swanson won that competition in training camp, and Glasgow spent most of the season playing guard until having to replace Swanson at center to end the year.
Swanson made it back to practice as a limited participant for a short time at the end of the season, but was never cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol.
