INDIANAPOLIS – Running back Isiah Pacheco's status for the start of the regular season is up in the air because of a back injury. If Pacheco can't play Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he's "comfortable" with Jacob Saylors opening the year as Jahmyr Gibbs' backup.
"I am," Campbell said. "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."
Saylors ran for 100 yards on 17 carries Saturday, Aug. 29, as the Lions closed the preseason with a 25-16 win over the Indianapolis
Colts.
He had three runs of 16-plus yards Saturday and averaged 6 yards per carry for the preseason.
The Lions signed Pacheco to be Gibbs' primary backup after trading David Montogmery to Houston in the offseason, but Pacheco missed most of training camp with knee and back injuries.
Campbell said last week Pacheco's sprained knee had healed but the running back was "touch and go" with his back injury.
Gibbs is expected to shoulder the bulk of the work in the Lions backfield this fall, but he's never had more than 250 carries in a season.
Along with Saylors, the Lions are expected to keep Sione Vaki as a backup on their initial 53-man roster, and have Trayveon Williams and Jabari Small vying for roster spots. Small, who spent part of last season on the Lions' practice squad, left Saturday's game with an injury while Williams ran for 57 yards on nine carries.
Vaki did not play Saturday for precautionary reasons after missing the first two games of the preseason with a broken nose and back spasms.
"Small would kind of fall into that bucket just like Saylors would," Campbell said. "They’ve kind of got a feel of what we're doing and they've shown a little bit of stuff here that's good and they know our system. It doesn't mean we wouldn't go outside and see if something else is there, but I like those guys, and I like Saylors."
Saylors played primarily on special teams for the Lions last season after playing the 2024-25 spring seasons with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL. He had two carries for 11 yards for the Lions last fall.
"He’s made plays out of the backfield.," Lions quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "He runs hard, he made plays. He’s hard to tackle. He’s very fast so I’m excited to see how we use him this year for sure."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions 'comfortable' with Jacob Saylors opening season as Jahmyr GIbbs' backup
