Detroit Lions taking ‘wait and see’ approach with RB D’Andre Swift’s sprained shoulder

Detroit Free Press

D’Andre Swift’s bid for a third straight 130-yard rushing game ended early Thursday, when the second-year running back suffered a sprained right shoulder in the second quarter of the Detroit Lions‘ 16-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Swift was injured with about 8 minutes left in the first half, when his former college teammate, Roquan Smith, drove him hard to the ground on the Bears sideline after a 2-yard run.

Swift spent several minutes on the ground on the Bears sideline and appeared to be in pain as trainers worked on his arm on the Lions’ bench before leaving for the locker room.

“It’s a wait-and-see,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We know it’s a shoulder sprain. So we’ll see where it goes.”

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Swift has been the Lions’ most effective offensive skill player in recent weeks.

He ran for a career-high 130 yards on 33 carries in a Week 10 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he first injured his shoulder, then topped that with 136 yards on 14 carries in last week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

On Thursday, Swift had three carries for zero yards and caught three passes for 9 yards before his injury.

Jamaal Williams, in his second game back from a thigh injury, led the Lions (0-10-1) with 65 yards rushing on 15 carries, and Godwin Igwebuike played as a change-of-pace back in the second half.

Swift’s injury came on first-and-15 from the Chicago 34-yard line, when the Lions were called for their second of three straight penalties — a hold on center Evan Brown — in scoring territory.

They punted on that possession and managed just one first down on their next four drives.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff said Swift’s absence did not change the Lions’ play selection much.

“There may have been some stuff that we wanted for him that we weren’t able to call, obviously,” Goff said. “But I thought Godwin filled in and did a great job and Jamaal’s obviously been reliable all year. But Swift is as explosive as a guy I’ve ever been around so having him on the field whenever is helpful.”

Special teams ace Bobby Price (shoulder) and linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder) and Derrick Barnes (undisclosed) also left with injuries.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. 

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