The Detroit Lions appear to have moved on from their injury problems with Jameel Gibbs. Detroit's superstar running back left practice last week with a hamstring injury, causing considerable uncertainty for the team. Lions head coach Dan Campbell reported in his press conference this morning that Gibbs is doing fine.
Dan Campbell said this morning that Gibbs' health is improving, per ESPN's Field Yates. “(Jameer) Gibbs, we're going to have him back next week,” Campbell said. “He's doing better.”
Campbell added that the Lions are hopeful they can get some notable players such as Sam Laporta, Malcolm Rodriguez, DJ Reader, Kevin Zeitler and Dan Skipper back on the field for this season's final preseason game.
The Lions made headlines last offseason by selecting Gibbs with the 12th overall pick, and many were skeptical that the selection would translate into future success given the value of the running back position and the high draft pick they gave Gibbs, but Gibbs and the Lions quickly proved the doubters wrong.
Gibbs had 945 yards and 10 touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry in his rookie season. His efficient running style was a perfect match for the slugging David Montgomery. Gibbs is also a dangerous receiver, but he didn't get to show much of that as a rookie. In 2023, he had 52 catches for 316 yards and one touchdown.
The Lions have worked to improve Jameel Gibbs' receiving skills in training camp, with the hope of giving him an expanded role in 2024.
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The Lions have high hopes for Gibbs in 2024. They feel he has room to grow even more as a pass-catcher and can take their offense to a new level.
Earlier this month, Gibbs spoke with ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, and during the conversation, Gibbs admitted that he has focused on improving his receiving skills over the offseason.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also spoke about Gibbs working more with the wide receivers in training camp.
“We'll see what we can do over the next few weeks. We had some ideas in mind of maybe using him in a unique way,” Johnson said, “but we're not there yet.”
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The Lions were looking to Gibbs as a “positionless weapon” in the 2023 NFL Draft, and it appears they're one step closer to making that vision a reality.
It helps that phenom offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is still in Detroit. He's in a good position to deploy a versatile offensive weapon like Gibbs. Jameel has a lot of confidence in Johnson, so he's happy he's still in Detroit.
“Trust is key in this game,” Coach Gibbs said, “so it's great to have Ben back. He understands the offense really well and knows how to lead us to success.”
I can't wait to see how the Lions use Jameel Gibbs early in the 2024 NFL season.
