Lions backup RB Isiah Pacheco dealing with sprained MCL, expected back for Week 1

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Monday morning that backup running back Isiah Pacheco is dealing with an MCL sprain. Pacheco is expected back for Week 1, when the Lions will open their 2026 campaign with a home game against the New Orleans Saints.

The 27-year-old RB signed with Detroit on a one-year, $1.81 million deal to back up starting running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

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Pacheco is heading into his fifth NFL season. He was a seventh-round pick (251st overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. As a rookie, he ran for 830 yards, added 130 more yards through the air and totaled five touchdowns.

He built on that hot start in 2023 with 935 rushing yards, 244 receiving yards and 9 total touchdowns. It looked like he was primed to take over the Kansas City backfield, but after an injury-shortened 2024 due to a fractured fibula in Week 2, he wasn’t able to return to form.

The Chiefs let him walk in free agency. Detroit brought him in as a replacement for veteran RB David Montgomery, who was traded to the Houston Texans in the offseason.

There is no question Gibbs is going to be the starting RB and will see a huge workload. Pacheco was expected to mainly be depth to give Gibbs a break, but now the Lions will spend the remainder of the preseason determining who could be trusted to offset Gibbs if Pacheco ends up not being ready by the Saints game on Sept. 13.

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Detroit could look to work out running backs to add to its backfield. If the Lions don’t, they would be looking at one of Raheem Blackshear, Kye Robichaux, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small or Sione Vaki to step into that backup role.