The Detroit Lions have just three running backs on their current 51-man roster, and Dan Campbell said they plan to use all of them in their season opener Sunday, Sept. 13, against the New Orleans Saints.
While Jahmyr Gibbs will be the Lions' "bell cow" on offense this fall, Campbell said Jacob Saylors and Sione Vaki will work in a "committee" as Gibbs' backup.
"I see Vaki getting some reps, too, now," Campbell said. "I don’t see like, 'OK, well Saylors is like running back two.' Saylors brings special teams value and there’s things that he’s been able to do. We’ve seen more of him than Vaki in games, preseason games. But Vaki’s banked some pretty good reps in practice."
Saylors was one of the Lions' standouts of the preseason, running for 100 yards
in their exhibition finale against the Indianapolis Colts.
Campbell said after that game he was "comfortable" using Saylors' as Gibbs' primary backup while Isiah Pacheco is out with a back injury.
Vaki did not play this preseason because of injuries − he missed Week 1 of the preseason with a broken nose, had back spasms that kept him out of Week 2 and Campbell said the Lions chose to sit him for precautionary reasons in Week 3 − but logged significant work in the second half of camp in Pacheco's absence.
Saylors has more running back experience; he played in the UFL last spring and had two carries for 11 yards for the Lions last fall, while Vaki played primarily safety in college and has seven carries in his first two NFL seasons.
But Campbell said Vaki has shown growth as a running back and remains one of the Lions' most valuable players on special teams.
"We feel like Vaki’s ready to take some of this on, too, as a runner and a pass protector," Campbell said. "And receiver, so we feel good with either one of those guys in there when Jah needs a breather."
Open and shut
The Lions have two open spots on their roster, and while Campbell declined to say who will fill them, he said the Lions have "a pretty good idea right now" of how they want to manage the roster.
"Our eyes are always open," Campbell said. "We’re always going to be about competition, but I think we’ve got a pretty good idea what we want to do going into this game. You never know, things can fluctuate, but yeah, we know what we want to do."
The Lions are light at running back (three players currently rostered), receiver (four) and on the offensive line (eight).
They could promote one or two veterans from the practice squad − Tom Kennedy is in line to play against the Saints and handle return duties as part of the 53-man roster or as a practice squad elevation − or use those roster spots on young players whose contracts would not be guaranteed. Vested veterans who are on Week 1 rosters have their contracts guaranteed for the season.
Briefly
Campbell said safety Thomas Harper, who missed the end of camp with an ankle injury, would return to practice Monday, Sept. 7, and should be ready to play against the Saints. He did not offer an injury update on fellow safety Christian Izien, who missed the end of camp with a leg injury, but said, "We feel good about that room right now." ... The Lions had an hourlong practice scheduled Monday and were expected to vote for captains.
"Kind of a new season now, really officially tomorrow just for us," Campbell said. "We’ll get them moving a little bit, get a little intro to New Orleans, but really tomorrow will be our big work day for base downs. But it’s good that it’s finally here."
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: Safety-turned-running back Sione Vaki set for increased role on offense
