As his future with the team reaches a tipping point, these teams could make the Detroit Lions an offer they shouldn’t refuse for running back D’Andre Swift.
Three seasons into his NFL career, Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift has been a mix of promise and disappointment. He should be regarded as one of the top dual-threat backs in the league, but he has missed time every season and fallen short of expectations.
Colton Pouncy of The Athletic recently offered up the idea that Swift may not have a future with the Lions beyond next season, the final year of his rookie contract since he was an early second-round pick in 2020.
Due to his injury history and the money he will likely want, there may not be a future for RB D’Andre Swift with the #Lions, writes @TheAthleticNFL
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 23, 2023
Swift is a star caliber back but hasn’t been able to have a complete workload pic.twitter.com/qnBvFyy7ln
Just this past week at the NFL Combine, here’s what Lions head coach Dan Campbell had to say about Swift.
"We’re going to start all over from scratch again. Let’s find another way to see if we can help him stay on the field, you know? I already know he’s doing that for himself, so we’ve got to do that on our end. What can we do better by him? Can we? Because he’s too talented. He’s too talented to not have out there. He’s an explosive athlete.”"
Campbell started by noting the team’s plan to managed Swift’s workload in training camp and such last year, in order to keep him healthy. It just didn’t work out, obviously.
It’s worth noting Swift’s injuries have not been of the recurring soft tissue nature–ankle, shoulder, concussion. So what can be done to prevent those kind of things, from the team or player’s perspective, is hard to pinpoint. As much as Duce Staley was/is well thought of, new Lions’ running backs coach Scottie Montgomery might turn out to be a better fit for Swift.
All in all, it’s worth wondering if there will be a tipping point for the Lions with Swift. They could just let him go next offseason as a free agent, or a trade lingers as a possibility–if not this offseason, then possibly by the deadline during next season. The ship has all but surely sailed on any idea he’ll get any sort of contract extension this offseason.
Here are six teams who could make an offseason trade offer for Swift the Lions shouldn’t refuse.