Detroit Lions reluctant to put running back Jahvid Best on PUP list – NFL News
After all the rumours, it looks like Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best will not be added to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
It was widely predicted that Best will start the season on the PUP list, as he had failed to get to full fitness and was not cleared to practise in the offseason training camp.
Best has been recovering from his injury which he got while playing against San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 of the last season. He got a concussion during that game and was unable to play in the remaining games of the season.
Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz still has hopes that Best will be able to get fully fit come the start of the season. Talking about Best’s current condition, Schwartz said:
"No, no decision has been made right now,"
Schwartz pointed out the fact that concussion-related injuries seem to take a lot more time to recover than other type of injuries. He said:
"Particularly with concussions, time is always beneficial. You've seen that with a lot of other guys that have come back. (The PUP) would buy us time if we had to cross that hurdle."
Lions are a bit careful about Best as he has a history of getting concussion-related injuries.
Best has previously expressed grief about Lions taking too much precaution in his case. He said:
"I think just in terms of everything that's been going around with concussions, everybody's being extra careful. If this was four or five years ago, I probably would have played last season. Now that everything's under a thin microscope, it takes a lot longer."
Lions’ running game is not looking very good as there is not much depth to cope with injuries to their starting players.
Putting Best on the PUP list will in turn mean that he will be out for the first six weeks of the season.
Apart from Best, running back Mikel Leshoure is also a concern for Lions. During his career, Leshoure has spent most of time out of the field due to injuries. Leshoure will be unavailable for the first two games of the season as he is under suspension from
the league.
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