The Detroit Lions have added more help for their injury-riddled running back room. The Lions signed veteran back Trayveon Williams on Saturday, Aug. 15. Lions coach Dan Campbell said Kye Robichaux is believed to have broken a bone in his foot in the Lions' preseason-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Jacob Saylors will miss practice time with an ankle injury.
The Lions went into the Bengals game without Isiah Pacheco, Sione Vaki and Jabari Small because of injuries. Pacheco likely will miss another week of practice, Campbell said, while Vaki (nose) and Small were expected to return Saturday. Starter Jahmyr Gibbs also did not play against the Bengals. "God bless [Robichaux], dude," Campbell said. "It looks like he may have broke a bone in that foot. He’s been so dang just durable all camp, played his heart out. He’s another guy that just gives you everything he’s got, maximizes everything." Saylors led the Lions with eight carries for 55 yards rushing and had a team-high 28 yards receiving (tied with Dominic Lovett) on three catches. Campbell said after the game Saylors, who's vying for the No. 4 running back job, "was probably our most potent player on offense." "I thought he made a lot of plays for us and he was kind of the steady workhorse we had early in that game," Campbell said. "If we were coming up with anything positive, he had most of it. So I like where he’s at. He does have some juice ... he can play some special teams, and that’s going to be big for that next role." Williams had seven carries for 37 yards and appeared in four games for the Cleveland Browns last season. He's also played for the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers in his eight-year career. Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: With running back injuries puling up, Detroit Lions add veteran to mix