Dan Campbell Feels a Lot Better about Jahmyr Gibbs Returning
The Detroit Lions may be without David Montgomery moving forward, following a rib injury suffered in the Lions' 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As a result, Dan Campbell will be forced to rely on the team's depth at the running back position. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs has missed the last two games, but may be in line to return to action against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Campbell provided encouraging updates on Gibbs, Brian Branch and tight end James Mitchell Monday.
"I feel a lot better about Gibbs this week. He ran really well on Saturday before we left, and had another really good workout (Monday)," Campbell said. "He, Mitchell and Branch, I thought, all looked pretty good today. I think they're trending the right way."
The head coach was uncertain about placing Montgomery on injured reserve, which would keep him out four games. The team should learn more about his status in the coming days.
"He's got a little something in there, the cartilage. He's probably gonna be down for a little bit here," Campbell stated. "I don't know how long. That'll just be, really how long it takes for this to -- at his position, that's not an easy thing to deal with. So, we'll just take it as it comes. I think there's a chance we won't have him for a little bit."
If the veteran is forced to miss significant time, Campbell hinted at potentially using players at other positions to spell Gibbs and Craig Reynolds at running back.
"If not, we've got other guys we can use on the roster at that position, probably in the receiver room, is where that could come from," Campbell explained. "We'll do what we need to do to make it through this if that's the case and all we have is (Reynolds and Gibbs). But, I trust those two to be able to handle what we need to handle."
Without Montgomery and Gibbs on Sunday, the Lions got contributions in the run game from Reynolds, practice squad call-up Devine Ozigbo and wide receiver Kalif Raymond.
The running backs room has been hit hard with injuries, as Montgomery, Gibbs and Zonovan Knight have all missed games to this point with injuries. Knight, signed to the practice squad after training camp to provide depth, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5.
