A first-round draft pick last year, Jahmyr Gibbs played a large role in the Detroit Lions' offense as a rookie. During a year in which the Lions won 12 games, captured the NFC North title for the first time, and narrowly missed out on a Super Bowl berth, Gibbs surpassed 1,000 total yards and scored 11 touchdowns. But an injury in preseason has effectively sidelined the talented running back.
Gibbs suffered a hamstring injury earlier in the month and has been a bit of a question mark as Week 1 approaches. Even though Lions head coach Dan Campbell proclaimed Gibbs was “trending the right way” to begin practice soon and suit up for the season opener, there were still obvious concerns among Detroit fans that Gibbs would not be ready to play in a few weeks.
However, a recent video from NFL Network's Bridget Condon shows Gibbs running seemingly without issue and catching a pass from Jared Goff, which should help assuage some lingering worries.
Jahmyr Gibbs, who has been dealing with a leg injury, is out on the field running routes and catching passes from Jared Goff #Lions
At the time of the injury, Campbell seemed rather optimistic about the injury severity — or lack thereof.
“I think we're gonna be fine here,” Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket in mid-August. “So, I think we'll be good.”
Campbell continued with an optimistic point of view ahead of the Lions' final game of the preseason vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, which Gibbs sat out.
“Our plan is to get him going next week,” Campbell said earlier this week. “He is trending the right way.
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“We are hoping the day after the Pittsburgh game, I think we are going to get a lot of guys back. We are shooting for Dan Skipper, shooting for Kevin Zeitler, Sam LaPorta, Gibbs, Malcolm Rodriguez, and I think we might start D.J. Reader up, too.”
This coming season, if he can stay healthy, Gibbs is expected to take a leap. Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said, in particular, that he wanted to transform Gibbs into an even better receiver after the rookie back recorded 52 receptions for 316 yards and one touchdown in 2023.
“Now what we need him to do from a passing game standpoint is go to the next level,” Montgomery said over the summer. “I do think there’s a certain difference between route running from the backfield and being a really, really efficient and efficient check down versus it is to be a great route runner, a guy that can run all types of choice. We know we’ve seen him do those things. But now can you go into the slot and a little bit more down the field? Some intermediate stuff? Can we continue to grow him there? And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
