Isiah Pacheco will miss at least the first four games of the regular season while on injured reserve, but Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he still expects the running back to return this season.
"That's the hope," Holmes said Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Allen Park during his annual preseason press conference.
The Lions placed Pacheco on IR on Tuesday, two days after they kept him and four other running backs on their initial 53-man roster.
Pacheco was expected to serve as Jahmyr Gibbs' primary backup this season after signing in the offseason on a one-year contract, but missed most of training camp with a sprained MCL and back injury.
Gibbs should handle the bulk of the work in the Lions' backfield after signing an extension that made
him the highest-paid running back in the NFL this summer, and Jacob Saylors is now his top backup. Saylors ran for 100 yards in the Lions' preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts, but he and fellow backups Jabari Small and Sione Vaki have nine combined carries for 29 yards in the regular season.
"Pacheco, he’s doing everything that he can to get back," Holmes said. "We’re still excited about him to get back and he’s on – we didn’t [put him on an IR to return spot on cut day] but he’s on there now."
Holmes declined to put a timetable on Pacheco's return.
"I’ll just say that, look, he’s steadily feeling better and he’s again, he’s doing everything that he can to get back and we’re excited to get him back."
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 RB Isiah Pacheco 'steadily feeling better,' expected to play in 2026
