The best indicator of a player’s expected role with a new team is the investment made to get him. For the Lions, the contract given to running back Isiah Pacheco means that will be the clear No. 2 to Jahmyr Gibbs.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, it’s a one-year, $1.81 million deal. This means that the days of Sonic and Knuckles are over. For 2026, it’ll be all Sonic for the Lions.
As it should be. Gibbs is a potential superstar. As a rookie, his playing time was limited to 57 percent. In 2024, it was 56 percent. Last year, it moved to 67 percent.
With that workload, Gibbs still had 1,839 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns.
By way of comparison, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had 83 percent playing time in 2025 — and 2,126 yards from scrimmage.
With Gibbs in line for a significant second contract, they’ll need to get value. With David Montgomery due to be traded to the Texans on Wednesday, the new-look depth chart will likely lay the foundation for Gibbs to be a Barry Sanders/Billy Simms-type presence in the Detroit offense.
Teddy Bridgewater is returning as Jared Goff’s backup.
Detroit has agreed to terms with the quarterback, NFL Media reports, though terms were undisclosed.
Bridgewater originally signed with the Lions in 2023, and he came out of retirement late in the 2024 season to return to Detroit. In 2025, he left for Tampa.
Bridgewater, 33, has not started a game since 2022, throwing only 15 passes since then.
NFL Media also reports the Lions are re-signing cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to a one-year, $4 million deal.
Ya-Sin, 29, joined the Lions in 2025. He appeared in 17 games with six starts, seeing action on 611 defensive snaps and 186 on special teams.
He totaled 47 tackles and nine pass breakups in 2025.
The Lions have reached agreement on a one-year deal to bring back linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
The team selected Rodriguez in the sixth round of the 2022 draft, and he has spent his career in Detroit.
In 2024, he tore an ACL on Thanksgiving Day and needed almost a full year before returning to the field. He appeared in seven games last season, starting one, and totaled 12 tackles and one tackle for loss in 72 defensive snaps.
Rodriguez has recorded 164 tackles, three sacks, three passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He has appeared in 50 games, with 25 starts.
The Lions have replaced running back David Montgomery, who will officially be traded on Wednesday to the Texans.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Lions have agreed to terms with former Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco.
Pacheco, a seventh-round pick in 2022, has appeared in 51 regular-season games with 42 starts. Once the Chiefs agreed to terms with running back Kenneth Walker III, Pacheco’s return to the Chiefs became highly unlikely.
He had a career-high 935 rushing yards in 2023. Last year, he gained only 462 rushing yards in 13 games, with 12 starts. Still, he runs with an intensity that will help move the sticks between the tackles.
In Detroit, Pacheco will become the clear No. 2 to emerging star Jahmyr Gibbs, and insurance in the event Gibbs is injured.
Terms have not yet been reported. Whatever the deal is worth, Gibbs is likely to get a contract before the season begins that will put him at the top of the market.
Gibbs shouldn’t set foot on the practice field until he gets a new deal.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond is joining back up with Ben Johnson.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Raymond has agreed to a one-year deal with the Bears. Raymond played for Johnson when the Bears head coach was the offensive coordinator in Detroit. Bears wide receivers coach Antwan Randle-El also held the same job in Detroit before joining Johnson in making the jump to Chicago last year.
Raymond bounced around the league before joining the Lions in 2021 and spending the last five seasons with the team. He had 171 catches for 2,185 yards and seven touchdowns during that run.
The Lions also used Raymond as a returner and he had three punt return touchdowns as a member of the team.
