Lions plan to be running back by committee
With Kerryon Johnson on the shelf for at least the next few weeks with a sprained left knee, the Detroit Lions will turn to a running back by committee to replace him.
“I think we have good players, we have dynamic guys, guys that can make plays in different ways,” Lions head coach Matt Patricia said. “And it’s not cookie cutter. Football’s not that way. When you have a different player that’s in and in the same position, it doesn’t mean that they can do the same thing. You have to be able to adjust for that and do a good job of handling that, whatever the situation is, whoever those guys are.”
For now, the Lions will use three players with vastly different skill sets to try and approximate Johnson’s production on the field.
Veteran LeGarrette Blount opened the season as the Lions’ starting running back, but his plodding style did the offense no good and he appears to have lost a step at 31 years old.
Blount is averaging a career-low 2.3 yards per carry and is on pace for his worst rushing season since 2012.
“Not the best (season so far),” Blount said. “It’s not really as productive as I would have wanted it to be, but at the end of the day you’ve got to strap it up and go play football. You can’t live in the past.”
While Patricia has maintained his faith in Blount, who he hand-picked for his backfield after a week of meeting with veteran running backs in free agency, either Theo Riddick or Zach Zenner might give the Lions more on an every-down basis.
Riddick has primarily contributed as a receiver throughout his six-year career, but he offers a play-making ability that neither Blount nor Zenner can match.
Zenner re-signed with the Lions earlier this month after he was released from injured reserve in early September with a broken back. He has just 15 carries for 38 yards the last two seasons, but played well in a starting role late in 2016 after Riddick and Ameer Abdullah went down with injuries.
The Lions, who are 4-0 in games when Johnson has rushed for at least 70 yards and 0-6 in games when he hasn’t, waived Abdullah earlier this month.
“No matter what it means for me, it’s always disappointing to see a teammate get injured,” Zenner said. “No matter what the situation is, and it’s no different for this one. Kerryon’s a good teammate, good person, good friend, so it’s certainly tough to see (him) have an injury. I don’t know what the situation is. Hopefully he’ll be back ready to go, but if not I’ll be ready to do whatever I’m asked.”
SERIES HISTORY: 178th regular-season meeting. Bears lead series, 98-74-5, and won at Soldier Field earlier this year. The Lions and Bears have played 16 times previously on Thanksgiving, with the most memorable of those matchups coming in 1980, when Dave Williams returned the overtime kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown for the Bears.
