Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs is trending in the right direction to play in the team's final preseason game, signaling that he'll be ready for the regular season.
The Detroit Lions look like they're out of the woods with the Jahmyr Gibbs injury situation. Detroit's superstar running back gave the team quite a scare last week after he left practice with a hamstring injury. Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave a positive injury update on Gibbs at this morning's press conference.
According to ESPN's Field Yates, Dan Campbell said this morning that Gibbs' health is trending in the right direction. “[Jahmyr] Gibbs, our plan is to get him going next week,” Campbell said. “He's trending the right way.”
Campbell also added that the Lions are hopeful to get several notable players back on the field for this season's final preseason game. These players include Sam LaPorta, Malcolm Rodriguez, DJ Reader, Kevin Zeitler, and Dan Skipper.
The Lions turned heads last offseason when they used the 12th overall pick on Gibbs. Many were skeptical that the pick would look good in the future, considering the positional value of running backs and the high draft pick used on Gibbs. However, he and the Lions quickly proved the skeptics wrong.
In his rookie campaign, Gibbs rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns at 5.2 yards per carry. His efficient running style paired perfectly with the bruising David Montgomery. Gibbs is also a dangerous receiver who barely tapped into that side of his game as a rookie. He hauled in 52 catches for 316 yards and one touchdown in 2023.
Lions working hard to improve Jahmyr Gibbs' receiving skills in training camp, anticipating expanded role in 2024
The Lions are expecting big things from Gibbs in 2024. They feel like he has even more room to grow as a pass catcher, which could unlock another level for the team's offense.
Earlier this month, Gibbs spoke with ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler. During the conversation, Gibbs confirmed that he's put in a lot of work on his receiving skills this offseason.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also talked about Gibbs getting more work with the wide receivers at training camp.
“We'll see what we can get to over the next few weeks, because we had some ideas in mind of how we wanted to use him in maybe a unique fashion,” Johnson said. “But we're not there yet.”
The Lions teased Gibbs as a “position-less weapon” coming out of the 2023 NFL Draft, and it sounds like they're inching closer to realizing that vision.
It is a big help that genius offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is still in Detroit. He is the right person to deploy a versatile offensive weapon like Gibbs. Jahmyr is glad to have Johnson still in Detroit because he has a huge amount of trust in him.
“Trust is a big thing in this game,” Gibbs said. “So it was a great thing that Ben came back. He knows the offense very well and he knows how to put us in positions to succeed.”
We can't wait to see how the Lions use Jahmyr Gibbs early in the 2024 NFL season.
