He wasn’t really likely to suit up anyway, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell all but said D’Andre Swift will miss Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
Playing through an ankle injury for a second straight week in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift added a shoulder ailment to his injury docket. It was obvious Swift could miss some time, and shutting him down through a Week 6 bye is certainly a solid idea.
Campbell offered a long list of banged up Lions players who did not practice on Wednesday. Speaking on Swift, his comments were not optimistic regarding playing status for Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:
"I mean, it’d have to be this, the skies open up and the bright light comes out and I’m good to go and it feels unbelievable and here we go,”"
Dan Campbell said the sky would need to open up and the bright light needs to come out for Lions RB D'Andre Swift to be able to play this weekend.
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) September 28, 2022
#Lions coach Dan Campbell says D'Andre Swift would have to be "significantly" better to play this week. Says the skies would have to open up. "We knew it would be this hard to get through a full season with him healthy," Campbell said. "That's the nature of the position."
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) September 28, 2022
D’Andre Swift seems like a virtual lock to miss Week 4 against Seattle
Campbell, as he often won’t, did not sugarcoat Swift’s situation as he basically said it would take a miracle for the Lions’ top running back to play Sunday.
Swift himself acknowledged he also re-injured his ankle against the Vikings, which was the obvious risk inherent with him playing on it until he could rest it fully. Add the shoulder issue to the mix, and in crass terms he practically becomes a running with one fully functional leg and one arm he can comfortably carry the ball in.
Campbell acknowledged, apart from anyone who wants to lament Swift’s lack of durability, how injuries are part of the nature of the running back position.
The Lions will miss Swift, since there just aren’t many running backs around who have his raw ability.
But Jamaal Williams is plenty capable, and Craig Reynolds showed well when he was pressed into lead back duty last season. Justin Jackson, he of the 5.0 career yards per carry average who has only played special teams and returned kickoffs for the Lions thus far, could also be sprinkled in for a few offensive snaps in Swift’s absence.
Injuries are often the prime subject for coach-speak during a game week, but Campbell (as usual in a broader sense) avoided it in regard to Swift. There was no use hiding from the harsh reality, in some strained effort to hang onto the remote notion he could play this week.