When the Detroit Lions unveiled their initial 53-man roster for this year, one of the biggest surprises (if not the biggest surprise) was David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs being the only two running backs. No offense to Jason Cabinda, but he is a fullback by position label only.
To put it simply, the Lions are not going into the season with only three running backs on their active roster. It's fair to assume Craig Reynolds will be brought back as that third running back, if another team doesn't sign him after he was released. But contingency plans should always be looked into, at any position--let alone one of the positions subject to injury and turnover the way running back i . And if a better or more promising back than Reynolds is available, they should trump the idea of it just being a matter of timing before bringing him back.
The Lions, barring a major injury to Montgomery or Gibbs, obviously don't need to add someone who they'd expect to take a big offensive role. But as shown when Reynolds stepped in for a couple games in 2021, having a No. 3 running back who's capable of seamlessly taking on a large role if needed is valuable.
So with that, here are three running backs who were let go by other teams that could be on the Lions' radar. Ultimately, no running backs were claimed off waivers before Wednesday's noon ET deadline.