This offseason, the Detroit Lions backfield went through a major change. With the trade of David Montgomery—the team’s change-of-pace back to Jahmyr Gibbs—the Sonic and Knuckles duo will have to be replaced in 2026.
Detroit addressed this need by signing former Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, who presumably steps into the RB2 role behind Detroit’s Pro Bowl back in Gibbs.
But on Tuesday, Lions general manager Brad Holmes reminded everyone of another player to consider as an offensive weapon in the backfield. While answering a question about Pacheco on the Lions Collective podcast, Holmes interrupted his response to talk about third-year back Sione Vaki.
“We still have Vaki,” Holmes said. “We wanted to get Vaki a little bit more heading into camp last year, but he missed some time, kinda set him back a little bit. But the book’s not closed on him as a runner, either. So we’re excited about the room in general.”
Vaki will be entering his third season with the Lions after Detroit took him in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Though he mostly played safety in college, in his final year at Utah, he carried the ball 42 times for 317 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit drafted him exclusively as a running back and special teamer. While he’s been a very good special teams player through two seasons, his impact on offense has been very limited.
In Vaki’s rookie season, he was able to play in 16 games, but with the efficiency of Gibbs and Montgomery—and a solid RB3 in Craig Reynolds—his offensive opportunities were limited to six rushes and three receptions. Last year, as Holmes mentioned, Vaki’s season got off to a rough start with a hamstring and groin injury that caused him to miss much of training camp and six of the first eight games of the season.
But with Montgomery and Reynolds now gone, Vaki will clearly have a chance to compete for the RB3 role and could even warrant some playing time on offense in 2026. If Pacheco takes time to adapt to the offense or continues to battle injuries, as he’s had for the last two seasons, Vaki could be in for the most significant season of his career. Okay
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