The Detroit Lions placed running back Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve on Tuesday, Sept. 1. He was dealing with a knee injury (MCL sprain) along with a back injury he suffered during training camp.

Pacheco has since had surgery and is expected to miss extended time. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, Sept. 14 that Pacheco underwent a procedure to remove a loose body that was pressing on a nerve in his back, and that it carries a 12-week recovery with a chance he is back early in December. Dr. Robert Watkins IV performed the surgery.

Head coach Dan Campbell would not put a date on the return when he addressed the injury that same Monday. “It’s going to be a while,” Campbell said. “It’ll be a significant amount of time though.”

Pacheco was on the Kansas City Chiefs last season. He was expected to be the second running back on the Lions depth chart behind Jahmyr Gibbs. Pacheco was signed because the Lions traded David Montgomery to the Houston Texans in the offseason.

Mike Garafolo Details The Isiah Pacheco Timeline

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network laid out where things stand on Good Morning Football, passing along Rapoport’s reporting. He said,

“Isiah Pacheco undergoing surgery according to our Ian Rapoport for a loose body pressing on a nerve in his spine. He is expected to miss extended time. The Lions knew that going into this season that Jahmyr Gibbs without David Montgomery there was going to take on more of a load.”

Jahmyr Gibbs Becomes The Lions’ Every-Down Back

With Pacheco out of the picture for quite some time, Gibbs will be the three-down running back. At some point, the Lions will need to find a number two running back. Sione Vaki is currently the second running back on the depth chart and Jacob Saylors is the third. General manager Brad Holmes needs to make a trade sooner rather than later for another running back, or sign one of the free agents still on the market.