The Detroit Lions had one of the best seasons in franchise history last year, not only winning the tightly contested NFC North, which sent three teams to the playoffs, but also securing the number one seed in the NFC despite having to overcome a host of injuries.
Unfortunately, the Lions ran out of steam, falling to the Washington Commanders in their first playoff game in the Divisional round. Detroit then lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs around the league.
As expected, changes are going to come on both sides of the ball, but one in particular is already standing out: running back Jahmyr Gibbs is expanding his role as a pass catcher.
“Nothing too much changed, so a lot of the stuff is the same,” Gibbs said, according to Pro Football Talk. “I gotta learn the formations for this, but I’m being split out, I guess, like way more than I was the past two years. That’s good, that’s going to be fun. I’ve been waiting on that. He wants me to be more involved in it, so that’s what he plans on doing.”
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Hell yeah footballs finally back! Can’t wait for him to line up at WR a total of 0 times more on 2025 than 2024,” one fan sarcastically wrote on Twitter.
“incoming 5-6 extra TD’s for Gibbs,” another fan predicted.
“Ben Johnson leaves and the (Lions) don’t even know how to line up properly,” someone else wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see what this change will mean for the offense.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. At Next Impulse, Qwame covers sports with the same enthusiasm he brings to his recreational basketball and softball leagues.