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Isiah Pacheco's Back Surgery Puts December Return In Play

By JR·2 min read
Isiah Pacheco's Back Surgery Puts December Return In Play
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Dan Campbell confirmed Isiah Pacheco went under the knife for a back injury that's been building since training camp, with a 12-week clock now running.

  1. Isiah Pacheco's first season in Detroit was supposed to be about depth insurance behind Jahmyr Gibbs. Instead it's turned into a full-blown medical saga. Lions coach Dan Campbell confirmed Sunday that Pacheco had back surgery and is staring down a significant chunk of time on the shelf.

    Colton Pouncy
    Colton Pouncy
    @colton_pouncy

    Dan Campbell says RB Isiah Pacheco (back) will miss a significant amount of time. Confirms Pacheco had back surgery.

    The details came into focus fast. Ian Rapoport reported the procedure removed a mass that had been pressing on a nerve in Pacheco's back, and that the recovery is pegged at 12 weeks, with a shot he's back on the field in early December. Rapoport also noted the injury chain that got Pacheco here: he originally hurt his MCL, then tweaked his back while training to come back from it.

    Ian Rapoport
    Ian Rapoport
    @RapSheet

    #Lions RB Isiah Pacheco had surgery to remove a body that was pressing on a nerve in his back, source said. It’s a 12 week recovery with a chance he’s back by early in December. Originally, Pacheco had an MCL injury, then hurt his back while training.

    Ian Rapoport: #Lions RB Isiah Pacheco had surgery to remove a body that was pressing on a nerve in his back, source said. It’s a 12 we

    The surgeon matters here too. Rapoport identified him as Dr. Robert Watkins IV, described as one of the nation's top spine specialists — the kind of name that gets called when a franchise wants the best possible read on a nerve issue in a professional athlete's back. That's not a routine procedure; it's a sign the Lions and Pacheco's camp treated this cautiously rather than trying to play through it.

    Ian Rapoport
    Ian Rapoport
    @RapSheet

    Dr. Robert Watkins IV, one of the nation’s experts, performed the procedure.

    Ian RapoportIan Rapoport@RapSheet

    #Lions RB Isiah Pacheco had surgery to remove a body that was pressing on a nerve in his back, source said. It’s a 12 week recovery with a chance he’s back by early in December. Originally, Pacheco had an MCL injury, then hurt his back while training. t.co/lrGvyGyb8v

    Pacheco signed with Detroit as a free agent this offseason on a 1-year deal worth roughly $1.81 million, arriving after four seasons in Kansas City where he won 2 Super Bowls as part of the Chiefs' backfield. The move was billed as a low-cost veteran option behind Gibbs following the David Montgomery trade to Houston — cheap insurance, not a headline signing. He never got the chance to play his way into the rotation; he landed on IR September 1 before this back issue escalated into surgery.

    None of this changes the Lions' plans in the short term — Gibbs was always the workload back, and Detroit brought Pacheco in as a rotational piece, not a starter. But a 12-week recovery window pointing to early December means Pacheco's 2026 season, if it happens at all, is now a second-half story at best. For a guy who signed a 1-year prove-it deal to show he could still be a factor, that's a brutal amount of the season to lose before ever suiting up.

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