The Detroit Lions will have to address many elephants in the room sooner than later. For now, the biggest one surrounds D’Andre Swift.

Swift’s health has been a concern throughout training camp. The second-year back, like several other Lions teammates, battled a groin injury for several weeks. And while Lions head coach Dan Campbell would like Swift to be ready for Week 1 vs. the 49ers, he’s been non-committal. Instead of stating that Swift will play, he only said he expects him to.

D'Andre Swift
Detroit Lions running back Jermar Jefferson (28) and running back D’Andre Swift (32) work out together during training camp at the practice facility in Allen Park, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.

Now maybe, just maybe, one could be reading too much into that.

However, maybe not.

On Monday afternoon, Campbell spoke with reporters, and Sports Illustrated’s John Maakaron asked him about Swift’s health. Maakaron specifically asked if D’Andre Swift has done anything to quell his injury concerns heading into the season opener.

Campbell offered an interesting answer, to say the least.

“I don’t know if I will ever be completely, you know, feel completely great about everything,” said Campbell. “Because there’s always…there’s always work to be done. And you always feel like you can be better. No matter how good you are.”

“Certainly, I feel like we’re in a better place than a week ago when we talked. But now, we can at least start honing in on the opponent and what they do. And how we wanna attack that opponent.”

He then finished his statement by talking about bringing Trinity Benson and KhaDarel Hodge up to speed. Along with that, he gave a small glimpse of his game plan for the week.

What???

A few things he said from that reply could apply to D’Andre Swift. Overall though, it appears Campbell either ducked the question entirely or lost his train of thought.

Both could be true.

The Lions will need Swift to be in action to defeat the 49ers. With predictions of this being a run-heavy offense, the Lions will need their premier playmaker in action. Remember, it was just a few weeks ago that Campbell stated Swift’s injuries were concerning him.

“Swift concerns me a little bit,” Campbell told reporters on August 24th. “Just with getting his wind back and being able to take a load.”

Despite Swift’s health concerns, the Detroit Lions should still be in a good spot for at least one week. They still have Jamaal Williams and Jermar Jefferson. For at least one week, that duo can shoulder the load for the Lions rushing attack.

Follow Kory Woods on Twitter at KoryEWoods.

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By Published On: September 6th, 2021Categories: NFL

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