When Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew said last week that he hadn’t seen running back Jahvid Best during the team’s voluntary workouts, there were concerns raised that Best is still being held back by the concussions he suffered last season. But Lions coach Jim Schwartz says that’s not the case.
Instead, Schwartz told the Detroit Free Press today, Best is a full participant in workouts, and the only reason Mayhew hasn’t seen him is that all the Lions’ executives and coaches, except the strength and conditioning coaches, are focused completely on draft preparation.
“He’s doing the same things everybody else is doing,” Schwartz said of Best. “We’re not practicing, but the coaches and everybody else, we’ve [been] in draft meetings. Martin’s been in draft meetings the last week. So everybody made a big deal about, ‘Oh, he hadn’t seen him.’ Well, that’s because players are working out and everybody else is getting ready for the draft. But [best is] working.”
Best entered the NFL with concerns about his history of concussions, and he suffered two concussions last season. But the Lions have expressed cautious optimism that he’ll be good to go this year.