After landing on the IR to kickstart his Detroit Lions career, it sounds like running back Isiah Pacheco is set to miss a lot more time than just four weeks this season.
Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters ahead of Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills that Pacheco, who'd been dealing with a back and knee injury throughout training camp and the offseason, will be out for a "significant" amount of time after getting back surgery.
The exact timeline is unclear, although NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that he's expected back by December. Campbell is right - that is significant.
This means that the Lions' remaining backups at running back - Sione Vaki and Jacob Saylors, but especially Vaki - need to improve quickly as Detroit should not be risking running Jahmyr Gibbs into the ground so early in the year.
Pacheco's injury shines more light on thin running back room
Vaki looked so-so in Week 1: he blew a pass blocking assignment and actually chipped Penei Sewell on one play, leading to a sack on Jared Goff that luckily didn't result in a fumble recovery and touchdown for New Orleans. He also only had two carries, while Saylors had none. This was likely to prevent ramping him back up too quickly after he missed time in training camp with various injuries.
Still, the team has to finally see some marked improvement from the 2024 draft pick, or else they'll need to peruse what's left of the free agent running back market early in the year.
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As of now, those options include former Lion Craig Reynolds, former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (who visited with the Lions this offseason), former preseason hero Trayveon Williams, Joe Mixon, and Dare Ogunbowale, to name a few.
How Vaki can carve permanent RB2 role after latest Pacheco news
The one area that Vaki really needs to worry about improving in is as a pass blocker. David Montgomery excelled in that department, which is why losing him felt like a significant blow to the Lions' offensive line and protection of Goff. Vaki is a bigger running back than Gibbs, to be sure, but he struggled mightily in Week 1 to keep his assignment in front of him.
If he can get stronger in this department, then this news doesn't impact the Lions all that much aside from losing a more reliable rushing option behind Gibbs. Vaki should still be considered the teams' best option at RB2 with the role of short yardage guy in addition to pass blocker.
If he can't, expect to either see Thursday night act as an audition for Saylors to take over from Vaki in that role, or a free agent signing shortly after the game, win or lose.
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