Lions' Campbell not sweating Gibbs' hold-in: 'At some point here, it’ll get done'
Allen Park — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell isn’t overly concerned about Jahmyr Gibbs’ decision to abstain from practicing during ongoing contract negotiations.
“I’ll just leave it at this, you guys know how I feel, how we feel about Gibbs, and what the team feels about him,” Campbell said. “I’ll leave it at that. Listen, all the other stuff, my job is to coach who’s out here right now. And I love the kid, but, man, I got a team to coach right now. Listen, whatever all this is, at some point here, it’ll get done. It’s going to get done. I’m not even sweating it.”
On the brink of a potential market-setting extension, Gibbs was a non-participant during the team’s first training camp practice on Wednesday.
A first-round pick in 2023, Gibbs has been everything the Lions hoped and more during his first three seasons, racking up more than 5,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 49 touchdowns.
After taking over the lead back role last season, the Lions doubled-down this offseason when they traded backfield partner David Montgomery to the Houston Texans.
Last month, Campbell labeled Gibbs the team’s bell cow, a comment he joked he shouldn’t have made, in light of Gibbs’ hold-in. On the other hand, Campbell admitted that he thought the sides would have an agreement in place before camp started.
“I shouldn’t have said bell cow, honestly,” Campbell said with a smirk. “Hey, coach said ‘bell cow.’ Honestly, I didn’t even think twice about it. I really didn’t. I thought we’d have been done by now. But I also — I know how this goes. I’ve been in this league a long time, player to coach. I know how it goes. So I’m not even sweating. I’m not sweating it.”
While Gibbs stays pinned to the sideline, Campbell said it’s a good opportunity for the team’s other running backs, particularly Isiah Pacheco, the veteran added in free agency to backfill Montgomery’s role.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Campbell said. “Look, it’s one of the reasons we got Pacheco, man. This is extra reps for Pop with us, just in our system, man. So, that’s awesome. He gets these reps. (Jacob) Sailors, (Jabari) Small, (Kyle) Robichaux, (too).
“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Campbell continued. “It gives him more reps. So, yeah, it’s good. There’s always a silver lining.”