Detroit Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs sits with hamstring injury, 'right where he should be' so far
Bijan Robinson has two 100-yard rushing games already this season. De'Von Achane is second in the NFL in rushing.
Jahmyr Gibbs is off to a slower start than his rookie counterparts, but Detroit Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said he's pleased with Gibbs' performance five games into his career.
"He’s right where I thought he would be, he’s right where he should be coming along at, at this time," Montgomery said. "We don’t judge players based off of anything else besides achievement. Like there is success and there is expectations and I want people outside the building to put those expectations on him because guess what, whether we believe it or not, it motivates him. It does, and that’s a really, really good tool."
Gibbs, the No. 12 pick of April's draft, has 179 yards rushing on 39 carries and another 70 yards receiving on 14 catches in the Lions' 4-1 start.
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He's played mostly as a backup to David Montgomery so far, but had 80 yards rushing in his lone start in a Week 3 win over the Atlanta Falcons when Montgomery was out with a thigh bruise.
Gibbs missed last week's win over the Carolina Panthers after straining his hamstring late in practice Friday. He remained out practice Wednesday and is day-to-day ahead of Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
"I have to slow myself down and think that he had one start where he had 17 carries, 80 yards, 5 yards (almost) a carry," Scottie Montgomery said. "And I believe in each game that he’s been in and played in, he’s had 50 or more scrimmage yards. That doesn’t sound significant, but when you talk to our coordinator, you talk to our head coach, and especially when we have the type of room and the type of talent that we have on the field, this is not a team lacking for talent, so when you have guys in each room that can make plays, at the end of the day there’s only a certain amount of yardage that can happen on a football field."
Both Achane, a third-round pick who has rushed for 460 yards in the Miami Dolphins' 4-1 start, and Robinson, the No. 8 pick of the draft by the Atlanta Falcons, have provided more value relative to their draft position than Gibbs while playing for teams with winning records and in backfields where they share carries.
Montgomery said he senses a desire from Gibbs to want to contribute more, but that the humbling start will make Gibbs a better player down the road.
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"I do feel that he feels a little bit of a, 'Hey man, I got to continue to grow and I got to continue to grow,'" Montgomery said. "But we’re really, really happy with him understanding that it’s about achievement, not necessarily what success is. And another reason this is really good for Jah is that the same way that he’s having to manage these expectations, in a few weeks he will have to manage the what people are saying really, really good about him, and I think that is very humbling and there’s only one way you can be humbled."
Injury update
Defensive back Brian Branch, left guard Jonah Jackson, tight end James Mitchell and running back Zonovan Knight were among others who did not practice Wednesday.
Branch also is day-to-day, Campbell said. He spent the open portion of practice working on the side with a trainer, but could be another week away from returning from the ankle sprain he suffered in the Lions' Week 4 win over the Green Bay Packers.
With Gibbs and Knight out, the Lions had three running backs at practice Wednesday: David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds and practice squad back Devine Ozigbo.
Amon-Ra St. Brown returned to practice Wednesday after sitting out last week with an abdominal injury.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs 'right where he should be' after 5 games
