After the Commanders steamrolled the Lions in the divisional round, third-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs didn’t sugarcoat his mindset heading into 2025. “I’m good off the individual stuff—I’m trying to win a Super Bowl,” he told RG News. And you could feel the shift. Gibbs isn’t just coming to share the backfield with David Montgomery; he’s expanding his role entirely. This offseason, the explosive RB is learning a new position—wide receiver, with his eyes set on other positions as well.

“I’m being split out, I guess, like way more than I was the past two years,” he recently told WKYZ. “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.” Given the 23-year-old has already put together a couple of impressive seasons, it’s clear he’s got the hands and the upside to be a solid target for Jared Goff.

But there’s a catch, and it might just turn into a headache for Goff. Because Gibbs isn’t just learning a new position to win his first Lombardi. He’s ready to switch to any situation if he has to and will do anything the Lions’ coach will ask him to do. “I want to win a Super Bowl,” he reiterated his goal ahead of the regular season, but with a plot twist. “I’ll line up at safety, at nickel.”

The Lions are entering the 2025 season with an emerging defensive leader and 2024 All-Pro with nine interceptions, Kerby Joseph, with the nickel-turned-safety, Brian Branch, complementing him in the team’s secondary. Joseph led the league in interceptions last year and will start his fourth season in the NFL as the highest-paid safety in NFL history, with his four-year, $86 million contract extension.

Meanwhile, Dan Campbell switched Brian Branch from the starting nickelback to the starting free safety in the last season when Ifeatu Melifonwu was placed on injured reserve, following an ankle injury in training camp. Taken all together, Jahmyr Gibbs isn’t shy about it. He’s chasing a Super Bowl, not just stats or a spotlight. But if we’re being real, as much as he wants to do whatever it takes, Campbell and Co. probably aren’t lining him up at safety or nickel anytime soon.

They’ve got Joseph and Branch in the mix. They are looking to utilize Gibbs’ potential in the backfield or maybe as a pass catcher. And they just don’t want to make it Jared Goff’s headache when they have certain injuries haunting their 2025 season.

Jared Goff’s defensive weapon is out for the 2025 season

The Lions wrapped up their 2024 season with their first No. 1 seed in franchise history when they secured a decisive 31-9 win over Minnesota. But there was a caveat—injury concerns. Aidan Hutchison fractured his tibia and fibula in week 6, Malcolm Rodrigues went down with a torn ACL, Alim McNeil injured his knee, you name it. Fast forward to now, and the injury concerns still haunt Dan Campbell and the Lions.

Just last week, the Lions placed six of their players on the PUP list ahead of the training camp, including left tackle Taylor Decker, McNeil, Rodriguez, and defensive end Levi Onwuzurike. The writing was on the wall: if not fit by the 53-man roster deadline, the players might miss the first four games of the season. And now that the Lions have kicked off their training camp, Campbell announced that Onwuzurike is out for the 2025 season.

The head coach explained that “Levi’s surgery was — it was significant. But it need to be done. Out of his control, and it needed to be done.” The former second-round pick suffered a knee injury and was required to go under the knife to repair it. Injuries have been a part of his short NFL career. He missed his second season after suffering a back injury that also limited him to just 10 games in the following season. The silver lining?

He did return to play the 2024 season. He showed up in 16 games, recorded 28 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 47 pressures (including the playoffs). But then again, he’s now out of the 2025 season. “Certainly, losing Levi, that hurts,” Campbell said, acknowledging that the first-round pick Tyleik Williams will take a larger role.

“But it helps that we’ve got Tyleik. … I think, all in all, we’re pretty good. I like what we’ve got in that room. We’ve got an opportunity there for a lot of guys. We know we’ll get (McNeill) back at some point during the season. … We’ve got to weather any storm until we get reinforcements. Because reinforcements are coming, at least we know that.” That said, the Lions’ roster still holds elite talent. But the way things have played out, it’s the injury bug that just won’t stop biting.