Isiah Pacheco Camp Update — August 31: A Back Injury Joins the Knee

A week ago we wrote that the reporting on Isiah Pacheco's knee — expected ready for the start of the season — had not been contradicted. It has been now, and by his own head coach. Dan Campbell revealed this week that Pacheco has been dealing with a sprained MCL and, on top of it, a back injury, saying "I can't give you anything definitive" about a return date, per MLive.com. His Week One status is uncertain. Josh Alper at Pro Football Talk added the nuance worth keeping: Campbell did not treat the knee itself as a concern, which makes the back the newer variable. Campbell's most recent characterization, per Justin Rogers at the Detroit Football Network: Pacheco was feeling better, and "it's been a little touch and go."

The roster treatment cuts the other way, and the tension between the two is the story. Pacheco made the initial roster, listed second among five backs, with no PUP and no injured-reserve designation, per Tim Twentyman at the team's website — Detroit did not stash him. But the team also hosted veteran free agent Kareem Hunt for a visit during cut week, first reported by Adam Schefter at ESPN, and Alper framed that visit as a possible sign the Lions don't think Pacheco will be ready against the Saints. Hunt is not on the roster and no signing has been reported. Meanwhile Pacheco did not play Saturday's 25 to 16 finale win at Indianapolis, closing his preseason at zero snaps, while Jacob Saylors ran 17 times for a hundred yards in that game and made the team. John Whiticar at Pride of Detroit put the room in one line: "Pacheco should be the top reserve behind Gibbs, but he has rarely been healthy in training camp."

Back in June we were skeptical of a fifth-year back on a one-year deal behind a bell cow, with goal-line work the one path that beats the history — and that path required August reps that never happened. A week ago we said to watch whether he returned to practice before cutdown; no report in the window put him on the field, and the window instead produced a second injury. Whether the short-yardage packages include him is a question only a real game can answer, and none of the evidence that would preview it exists. We'll check back as his status firms up toward the opener.

_Data via nflverse._