**Yes—generally, you can remount it 4–5 inches lower on the same sound wood studs.** The new screws will grip fresh wood. A few small, separated holes ordinarily have little effect on the studs’ structural strength, including in a first-floor load-bearing wall.

With your existing holes about 8 inches apart, lowering the bracket 4–5 inches would put the closest new hole roughly **3–4 inches from an old hole**. That is generally ample separation for typical TV-mount lag screws, assuming the wood hasn’t split.

For the remount:

- Remove the TV with someone’s help before loosening the bracket.
- Confirm each stud’s center at the new mounting height.
- Follow **your mount’s instructions** for screw size, pilot-hole diameter and depth. Use 7/32 inch again only if that is the specified size.
- Tighten the screws until the bracket is firmly seated. Overtightening can strip the wood and reduce holding strength; [Sanus’s installation guidance](https://www.sanus.com/assets/products/vst15/documents/VST15_B1_VST15IMREV00.pdf) gives the same caution.

If a screw spins without tightening, or you find cracked or deteriorated wood, have the attachment checked before hanging the TV. You can patch the old drywall holes cosmetically; filling them isn’t needed to support the new mounting location.