The Lions came into the summer with a plan for Isiah Pacheco to be their No. 2 running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs, but Pacheco has dealt with multiple injuries this month and that may lead them in a different direction.
Jacob Saylors ran 17 times for 100 yards in Saturday’s preseason finale and he had 14 carries for 87 yards in the team’s other two games. It is Year 2 for Saylors in Detroit, but he only played eight offensive snaps while seeing regular time on special teams in his 15 appearances.
The offensive action may have been limited, but head coach Dan Campbell said on Saturday that Saylors’s experience in the system leaves him comfortable about moving forward with him in the backup role.
“I am,” Campbell said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m comfortable with those guys. And I just like the thought of having a guy in our system, think that’s important. Knows our terminology, knows our guys, knows the protections. Just kind of knows it all, man. Understands our quarterback and how he thinks. I just think that’s important.”
Pacheco added a back injury to a sprained MCL recently and his status for Week 1 is up in the air. If he can’t go, Saylors is in line for a chance to build on the positive impression he made in the preseason.
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