Lions running back D’Andre Swift was not happy with his Week 9 usage

D’Andre Swift had his workload reduced in Week 9, and it’s not surprising to find out he was not thrilled about it.

After he played 33 snaps and saw 10 touches in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, in his return to action after missing three games, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said running back D’Andre Swift may have had too much work.

In Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers, a reduced workload for Swift came to fruition as he continues to deal with ankle and shoulder issues. He made the most of his time on the field, with 50 total yards on five touches, but he played just 10 snaps.

As passed along during the game by Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, it appeared Swift was clamoring to get on the field. There were some indications how much he played would correlate with how he felt, but it seems the Lions had a snap number in mind (10) and weren’t going to let Swift exceed it.

D’Andre Swift was not happy with his Week 9 workload

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had his regular media session on Thursday. He lamented the lack of explosive plays for Detroit’s offense lately, and via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press he also talked further about Swift.

"I think he got pissed off a little bit,” Johnson said. “He caught that third down and was just a little bit short and we took him out. But that’s good. That’s good. That means he’s going the right direction for us.”"

Wanting to play and being mad about not being able to is definitely better than the alternative. If anything, it’s a sign Swift feels better than he has for awhile.

If Swift won’t be allowed to play a noticeable amount more than he did against the Packers on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, then he simply shouldn’t be in uniform. With Birkett reporting he has declined interview requests this week, it seems possible he gets a little squeaky wheel treatment on Sunday–whatever that might look like.