Even with David Montgomery injured and Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds nicked up, the Lions feel good about their rushing options ahead of Sunday's game against the Ravens and the NFL's No. 2 defense.
"Like we’ve had so often already this year in the receiver room, in the O-line room, someone will step up and rise to the occasion," offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday.
Put simply by Dan Campbell, "We’ll find a way."
While Montgomery is almost certain to be sidelined with the rib injury he suffered last week, Gibbs (hamstring) is trending toward playing for the first time in two games and Reynolds (hamstring/toe) is moving in the right direction himself after returning to practice Thursday in a limited capacity. The Lions could also turn to Devine Ozigbo, as they did a few times against the Bucs after losing Montgomery.
And don't rule out contributions from the receivers room. The Lions could weaponize Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond out of the backfield, as they have in the past. St. Brown has 17 rushing attempts for 160 yards in his three seasons with the Lions, and Raymond has 14 for 118. St. Brown scored a 26-yard touchdown on a delayed handoff against the Seahawks as a rookie.
"We got a couple of guys that can carry the football for us, between Leaf and Saint. Who knows, maybe we bring Mo Alexander with us and give him some carries. We’re going to find a way here. There’s a number of ways that you can move the football and it doesn’t always mean that you’re it handing off."
St. Brown is already one of Detroit's most utilized players. He has 38 catches on 50 targets through five games. If he has some carries coming his way, he's all for it: "However they want to use me -- ask to use me -- I'm ready for it," he said.
"Whatever they ask me to do, that's always been my thing. I'm here for the team, whatever they need. We got injuries, whatever the case may be, gotta step in there and help the team win," St. Brown said.
That said, the Lions aren't necessarily lacking in the backfield. They're likely to re-introduce the 12th overall pick to their offense and they have plenty of trust in Reynolds, who's been here for three seasons.
"We got a lot of confidence in Craig," Campbell said this week. "He’s been doing this since he’s been here. He just shows up and he always beats the odds. And anytime you want to count Craig out, he just shows up again."
Reynolds only rushed for 15 yards on 10 carries when he was pressed into action against Tampa, but he laid The Block of the season on the Lions' first touchdown and later turned a third-down screen pass into a 28-yard gain.
"He does so many plays like what you saw on the touchdown by Saint. He does that all the time," said Campbell. "When we talk about being steady and reliable and doing your job, he does that. Hell, the critical third down screen he caught, he didn’t even rep that all week. That’s what he is. He’s mentally locked-in every time. When you have a guy like that, you have a tremendous amount of trust. Craig will be just fine."
The Lions should be, too.