The Detroit Lions managed to find their future workhorse back last season in running back Kerryon Johnson. Despite his success, it appears the Lions are still looking to rely on its depth in the backfield moving forward.
Johnson's promising rookie season came to an end due to a knee injury. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, head coach Matt Patricia admits that he is not looking to run him into the ground so early in his career:
Patricia said Tuesday at the NFL’s annual meeting that he has no plans to baby Johnson in his return to the field but that the second-year running back’s workload could be limited by more natural factors.
“Regardless of Kerryon, I think it’s a position-specific thing where those guys, they take a lot of hits,” Patricia said. “They’re in those situations a lot where their bodies are taking some pounding so you want to be conscious of how many plays they’re getting, especially early on in the year. And obviously, we just want to win. That’s the most important thing. But you do have to look at big picture and say, ‘OK, great, we could win a couple now, but if we wear this guy out and he doesn’t help us in the long run then what’s the trade off?’”
Patricia's comments are certainly understandable.
The running back position is among the most grueling spots in football and they often endure plenty of wear and tear in a very short period of time. Johnson has shown plenty of potential early on and the Lions plan to do what they can to ensure he continues to develop into a bonafide lead back.
The former second-round pick entered the 2018 campaign as the backup to running back LeGarrette Blount. It was not long before he started handling the bulk of the workload and he went on to finish the season with 641 yards and three touchdowns on 118 carries. He also tacked on 32 receptions for 213 yards and a touchdown before injuring his knee in Week 11.
Detroit attempted to secure Johnson's backup by signing an offer sheet for Los Angeles Rams running back Malcolm Brown.
Unfortunately, the Rams had similar concerns when it came to keeping their complementary option to running back Todd Gurley and subsequently matched their offer.
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