This offseason, the Detroit Lions signed Isiah Pacheco to compete for the team’s RB2 spot after trading David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, Pacheco suffered an MCL injury in training camp and while rehabbing, he suffered a more serious back injury that required surgery. The latest we’ve heard is that it’s a 12-week injury and Pacheco could be back in December. On Friday, coach Dan Campbell offered an update.
“He’s progressing well,” Campbell said. “Yeah, I think there’s a chance we can get him back in late December, mid-December. There’s a chance here.”
Campbell praised the work Pacheco is putting in for rehab.
“He’s put a tremendous amount of work in, and he’s doing pretty well,” Campbell said. “…Pacheco is—get back in there, and he’s ready to go, man. It’s a matter of letting him continue to heal, but he’s doing a great job.”
Campbell also gave an update on Kerby Joseph, who returned to practice this week. Campbell noted that Joseph has responded well to the training routine, but they haven’t started him in team drills yet.
“He did a great job,” Campbell said. “It’s good so far. Now there again, we haven’t gotten any team reps. It’s all been individual and group. But he handled it well.”
The plan is to progress him slowly, give him cardio after practice that he hasn’t been doing in practice, and get him into more team drills next week. Campbell didn’t say it outright, but the heavy implication is that Joseph will be out for this week against the Vikings.
Joseph wore a compression sleeve Thursday after not wearing it Wednesday, but Campbell noted not to read into that.
“Any way you can reduce any inflammation that might be or reduce it, you’re always going to do that with anything: elbows, shoulders, people who have been injured,” Campbell said. “So that’s not—Like I said, we’re in the infant stage of it. It’s been positive so far. So that’s the best way to say it.”
UPDATE: Joseph wasn’t at practice Friday, but here’s the full quote from Campbell before practice on the plan for him:
“He’s done a good job. It’s good so far. Now there again, we haven’t taken any team rep. It’s all been individual and group. But he’s handled that well. That was kind of the point. We just progress him slowly here, work him in. We get him a little bit more today of that type of work. Plus, we surplus after the fact. We’re still doing him a little abnormal miles today, he’s still doing rehabilitation that’s not normal. getting; the run, the volume And then we’ll have him in real practice.
UPDATE 2: Apparently, Joseph made training, after the media is gone:
Brief update on LB Devin White, S Thomas Harper
In the middle of his update on Pacheco, Campbell gave an impromptu update on linebacker Devin White, who suffered a broken arm three weeks ago that is believed to have required surgery. White was in the locker room this week without any protection on his arm, and Campbell said he’s progressing well.
“Devin White is doing good, too,” Campbell said.
White must miss three more games before he is eligible to return to practice, meaning the earliest he can play is Week 11 against the Buccaneers.
Campbell was also asked about reserve safety Thomas Harper, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. Harper is now eligible to return to practice, and Campbell indicated he is close to being healthy enough to play.
“He’s doing pretty well,” Campbell said. “If we need him or (he’s) on call, I think he’ll be ready pretty soon.”
Unfortunately for Harper, it looks like the Lions may be stalling his return a bit. Campbell seemed to indicate they were happy with the current state of the safety room—with Brian Branch back in the lineup last week and Kerby Joseph returning to practice this week, with Chuck Clark and Keith Abney filling out the room.
If the Lions choose to return him to practice, they will have just three weeks to place him on the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve. Campbell indicated that they don’t want to start that clock yet, because they could finish those 21 days and still not need him on the roster.
“It’s just a matter of you got who you’ve got, and (if) you start that (evaluation) clock and then you go on it a little bit and you don’t need him, then you have to IR him or you have to—so we’re just kind of playing around. But he’s physically working well,” Campbell said.