The Detroit Lions might need to call up LeBron James' doctors to ensure that Jahmyr Gibbs is in tip-top shape to begin this season, as they've already lost their RB2 to begin the 2026 season.
Isiah Pacheco, who signed with the Lions this offseason after spending his last four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, was placed on the IR by Detroit just two days after cutdown day. As a result, the team was able to sign tight end Tyler Conklin back to the 53-man roster.
Pacheco had been injured for much of training camp and missed the entirety of the preseason, which left some to wonder if his previously reported MCL sprain was something more. Head coach Dan Campbell then told reporters last week that he was also dealing with a back injury, and now, he lands on the IR to begin the year.
Pacheco out to begin 2026 season as Lions are suddenly thin at RB
With Pacheco out, the Lions have just Jahmyr Gibbs, Jacob Saylors, Sione Vaki, and Jabari Small at running back to start the season. Gibbs is already projected to be taking on a brunt of the work on the ground this year, but with this injury, you should expect to see him taking at least 80-85 percent of the Lions' rushing snaps to begin the season.
Behind him, you have two unproven running backs: Vaki and Saylors. Vaki was dealing with his own back problems this offseason, and also missed the entirety of the preseason as a result of that and a broken nose. Saylors looked great in preseason, but he has barely taken snaps during the regular season at the NFL level. Small is likely more of a special teams addition.
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The bad news is that Detroit has a bit of a tough schedule to begin their season - a road game against the New Orleans Saints, then a primetime matchup after that on the road against the Buffalo Bills just four days later, a game at home against the vaunted New York Jets defense, and then a game on the road again to go up against the Carolina Panthers.
The good news is that Gibbs is fully rested after taking the entirety of the preseason off, and not because of injury - the team was just being smart about the workload of their "bell cow" on offense for 2026. Hopefully, that rest combined with a healthy-ish offensive line helps to ease their woes at running back, but it is unfortunate that they cannot rely on Pacheco to be their RB2.
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