Yes, you read the title correctly. The Detroit Lions currently don’t have a fullback on the roster right now and it doesn’t look like they will be bringing back Jason Cabinda. But according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions do plan to use a fullback.
“We like a fallback if it makes sense and it’s somebody we know can can help us at that position and can dictate to the defense, you know that’s really what you’re trying to do. It kind of forces the defense into to a look that you want usually.”
The prevailing thought has been that linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez could be playing that role off and on since he did it in 2023 and did it well. Campbell also suggested that some of the tight ends could fill in on that role if need be. Then he suggested defensive tackle Alim McNeill and everyone laughed. Here’s the thing, Campbell might have been serious about that and said it’s something the Lions have already talked about.
“Mac can do it. it’s just a matter of do you want to do that? He can do it. It’s just, alright how many plays did he just play on this last drive you know? Was this a ten play drive? Does he got his energy back to run out there at fullback? We’ve talked about it for a while so you never know, we could throw him in there.”
First of all, that would be a lot of fun. Second, it’s really not that much of a stretch at all. McNeill played running back in high school and he could move. Check out this touchdown run here: