Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure is about to make his long-awaited NFL debut on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, and for the Lions, it can't come soon enough.
A second-round draft pick out of Illinois in 2011, Leshoure saw his rookie season go down the drain when he tore an Achilles tendon in training camp. Then he suffreed a hamstring injury in training camp this season, followed by a two-game NFL suspension for two offseason arrests.
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All that waiting comes to an end Sunday in Tennessee, but any chance Leshoure had of easing into his pro debut can be forgotten. He's expected to provide the Lions' ground game with what it has been missing without Jahvid Best (who's still out from a concussion): Namely, someone opposing defenses have to account for while quarterback Matthew Stafford is spraying the ball around the field.
Detroit (1-1) is 25th in the NFL in rushing yards, with 165 through two games.
Leshoure seems to think he can help too, judging from his reaction to watching the team's first two games.
"There's some plays where I was like, 'Maybe if I was in there, I would've done this or not done that.'" Leshoure said, according to the Detroit News. "I definitely felt like if I was out there, I would've done some things differently. But I'm just a different player than those other guys. We all have different attributes."
"He hasn't played a snap for us, so we're all in the same boat (wondering) what he's going to be able to add," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said, according to the Detroit Free-Press. "I think he's very accomplished running back from college that we feel very strong about, that his ability to help us will be very positive. But we've got to give him a chance to go play a snap in the NFL before we say what he can do for us."
