One of the most prominent offseason acquisitions for the Detroit Lions is raising concerns with not one but two injuries. Isiah Pacheco joined the Lions in the offseason after four years as a Kansas City Chief. His debut in Detroit blue, however, may have to wait a bit.
Asked by reporters about Pacheco's status, Lions head coach Dan Campbell had no good news. "I can't give you anything definitive," he said, as reported by The Athletic's Lions reporter Colton Pouncy. Pacheco has been dealing with a sprained MCL, but Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit notes that Campbell indicated that the rusher has picked up another injury as well.
"He is feeling better as of yesterday, you know. It’s been a little touch-and-go right now. He’s had a little bit of a back (injury), and we’re hoping he’s coming out of this as of yesterday," he said.
Pacheco was expected to be the change of pace back behind superstar Jahmyr Gibbs after an up-and-down career in Kansas City. In his first two seasons, he ran for a total of 1,765 yards and 123 touchdowns, adding 374 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. His past two seasons, though, were much less productive.
He's played in only 20 games in that span, scoring just three total touchdowns. His yardage fell off significantly as well, failing to reach 1,000 total scrimmage yards across those two seasons. "Pacheco, when healthy, can do much of the dirty work for this offense as a physical runner and short-yardage option who can be a plus in pass pro," Pouncy said in a July report.
"That said, he’ll need to prove his best days aren’t already behind him." With what was hoped to be a return to form threatened by injury, the Lions are looking elsewhere for help, including another former Chief. "The Lions met with free agent Kareem Hunt earlier this week and any move to add options in the backfield could be a sign that they don’t think Pacheco will be ready to go against the Saints," reports Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
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