Lions Make Critical Jahmyr Gibbs Announcement Ahead of Week 1

Getty Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions

Every since Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs suffered a hamstring injury in an August 12 training camp practice, fans have been worried that he might not be healthy enough to appear in the team’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Now, the Lions have dropped some positive news about Gibbs going into Week 1.

Jahmyr Gibbs is Returning in Full

In the Detroit Lions’ injury report released on September 4, Gibbs is no longer listed as dealing with an injury. That means he should be healthy and ready to take on the Rams on Sunday, September 8.

“When you can run like he runs—I mean, this guy can run—then if you don’t touch that speed in practice at least once or twice a day, you set yourself up for something to happen on Sunday,” Campbell said via a transcript from the Lions. “[If] you’re a guy who runs 22 miles an hour, you better touch it because if the first time you touch it in a game, when someone’s coming after you, running away, that’s where bad things happen. […] So, I think that’s just the trick, is educating him on that, and making him do that so that he doesn’t have a setback. So, we’re on it, he’s doing it, and we like where he’s at.”

Gibbs was the Lions’ No. 12 overall pick last year. In his rookie year, he clocked 1,261 yards and 11 total touchdowns in 15 games. He rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He also caught 52 passes for 316 yards with one TD.

Penei Sewell was also not listed on the Lions’ estimated injury report Wednesday, meaning he should be good to go for Sunday.

Jahmyr Gibbs is ‘More Confident’

Gibbs spoke with ESPN on September 3 and said he feels about “98-100 percent” recovered.

“I’m good. I’m straight. I just had a little tweak,” Gibbs said in the interview. “We were running routes, and I ran a go and reached out for the ball and probably overstepped or something.”

He added, “I’m hoping we have a pretty good year. I’m just more confident, know the offense more, so it helps a lot with everything that’s involved.”

Jahmyr Gibbs Should See ‘More of a Load’ This Season

During the offseason, general manager Brad Holmes spoke about Gibbs’ growth as a player.

“I definitely would expect him to see more of a load,” Brad Holmes said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show in May. “But David Montgomery will still be here too. Dan (Campbell) and I love that 1-2 punch of him and David. But just speaking on (Gibbs) specifically, him being a rookie last year, even when he had some pops in that K.C. game in that opener, I was watching, I was like, ‘He’s still trying to get the feel of the game.’ He was playing very fast, and he actually kind of needed to slow down a bit, and he openly admitted that, ‘I had to slow it down a bit, I was kind of going too fast,’ which he was.”

He added, “But once he got that sweet spot, you kind of saw it in the Ravens game, which unfortunately we didn’t show up very well for that game, but that’s when you started seeing some glimpses of, ‘I think it’s coming, I think it’s coming,’ and then obviously that Raiders game where I believe everyone saw the breakout of, ‘OK, the game is slowing down for him. Now you’re seeing exactly what you saw at Alabama.'”