The Lions re-signed Reynolds to a one-year contract Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Reynolds wasn't tendered by the Lions as a restricted free agent, and he's instead returning to the team at a reduced rate. The 28-year-old appeared in all 17 regular-season games for Detroit last season, rushing 31 times for 139 scoreless yards (4.5 YPC), while adding three catches for 40 yards on five targets in the passing game. He played a career-high 272 special-teams snaps. Reynolds will continue to provide quality depth behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Limited action in 2024
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Reynolds finished the 2024 regular season with 31 carries for 139 yards while also catching three of five targets for 40 yards and logging 28 yards as a kick returner over 17 games.
Reynolds opened the season as the No. 3 option at running back behind David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, logging just 12 carries for 51 yards over the team's first 14 games. When Montgomery suffered a knee injury in Week 15 against the Bills, which ended his regular season, Reynolds was thrust into the No. 2 spot behind Gibbs. Over the final three regular-season contests, Reynolds had 19 carries for 88 yards while adding his three receptions for 40 yards. The running back will enter the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning the Lions will have the ability to match any offer put in front of him by another team.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Eight carries in blowout win
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Reynolds rushed the ball eight times for 39 yards while failing to reel in either of his targets in Sunday night's 31-9 win over the Vikings.
Reynolds continued in his role as the top backup at running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 18, turning eight carries into a season-high 39 yards on the ground. With the victory, the Lions secured a bye week to open the postseason, and it's possible that David Montgomery (knee) will be able to return to action in two weeks when Detroit plays in the NFC divisional round, which would push Reynolds back to No. 3 on the depth chart. Reynolds finished the 2024 regular season with 139 rushing yards on 31 carries while catching three of five targets for 40 yards over 17 games.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Questionable due to back injury
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Reynolds (back) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Vikings, Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network reports.
Reynolds appears to have suffered the injury at some point during the week, as he popped up on the injury report Friday as a non-participant in practice. With David Montgomery (knee) sidelined, Jermar Jefferson will likely be elevated from the practice squad to serve as Jahmyr Gibbs' primary backup if Reynolds is unable to suit up for the regular-season finale, while Sione Vaki's also an option for backfield snaps.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Nine touches in victory
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Reynolds rushed the ball seven times for 31 yards while catching both of his targets for 35 yards in Monday night's 40-34 win over the 49ers.
Reynolds once again was operating as the team's No. 2 running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 17, making the most of his limited opportunities. Most notably, Reynolds reeled in a 26-yard catch in the first quarter, which set up the Lions inside the 10-yard line. The running back has now turned 11 carries into 49 yards while reeling in all three of his targets for 40 yards over the last two games with David Montgomery (knee) unavailable.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Limited opportunities in Week 16
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Reynolds rushed the ball four times for 18 yards and caught his only target for five yards in Sunday's 34-17 win over the Bears.
Reynolds was expected to take a step up and operate as Detroit's No. 2 running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 16, but it didn't lead to a heavy workload. Over 15 games in 2024, Reynolds has now turned 16 carries into 69 yards, while the reception Sunday was his first of the year. He'll look to be more involved in the Lions' next contest against the 49ers on Monday Night Football on Dec. 30.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: In line for more carries
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With David Montgomery (knee) out multiple weeks, Reynolds is expected to see an expanded role on offense Sunday against the Bears, Jared Ramsey of the Detroit Free Press reports.
As Ramsey notes, Reynolds played behind Jahmyr Gibbs in a game against the Raiders last season when Montgomery was sidelined and rushed 14 times for 74 yards. Montgomery and Gibbs have stayed relatively healthy this season prior to Montgomery's MCL injury last week versus Buffalo, and Reynolds has mainly been glued to special teams while handling garbage-time carries on offense. Reynolds has compiled a 12-51-0 rushing line on 39 offensive snaps all year. While Gibbs should be a candidate for 20-plus touches versus Chicago, Reynolds also may be involved and could even see double-digit carries. Rookie Sione Vaki also is in the mix for playing time, but Reynolds has operated as the RB3 much of the season. Reynolds is worth picking up in deeper fantasy leagues.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Added work in blowout win
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Reynolds rushed the ball six times for 21 yards in Sunday's 47-9 win over the Cowboys.
Reynolds saw some garbage-time work with the game well in hand for Detroit in the fourth quarter, logging his first offensive touches of the year. The 28-year-old remains a distant third option at running back behind David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs while keeping a slight edge over rookie Sione Vaki for that No. 3 spot.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Cleared from injury report
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Reynolds (leg) was not listed on the Lions' estimated injury report Wednesday.
Reynolds' absence from the report is good news for the Kutztown product. Although it is worth noting that Detroit did not hold a practice Wednesday, so his participation in practice was just an estimate. It should confirm previous reports that he was expected to be ready Week 1. He'll likely compete with Sione Vaki for a limited number of snaps Sunday against the Rams, behind the Lions' backfield duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
Head coach Dan Campbell said Saturday that Reynolds (leg) should be available for the Lions' regular-season opener against the Rams on Sept. 8, Colton Pouncy of The Athletic reports.
Reynolds sustained a leg injury during Thursday's practice, which kept him out of Detroit's preseason finale against Pittsburgh on Saturday. He is competing against Sione Vaki for the No. 3 running back role behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Reynolds accumulated 16 rushing yards on five carries over his two preseason appearances.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Totals 226 yards in 2023
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Reynolds rushed 41 times for 179 yards and one touchdown while catching five passes (on five targets) for 47 yards over 17 regular-season games in 2023.
Reynolds had a couple of productive games during the first half of the season while filling in for David Montgomery, who missed multiple games due to injuries. However, both Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs managed to stay healthy over the second half of the year, leaving little work for Reynolds outside of returning kickoffs on special teams. Now set to become an unrestricted free agent, Reynolds is a candidate to return to Detroit but will need to land a new contract this offseason.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Plays exclusively on special teams
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Reynolds returned a kickoff for 26 yards while playing all 17 of his snaps on special teams in Saturday's 42-17 win over the Broncos.
For a four-week stretch from Weeks 5 through 8, Reynolds made a splash in a supporting role out of the backfield for Detroit, carrying 34 times for 157 yards and a touchdown while adding four receptions for 49 yards. However, with both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs having stayed healthy since the Lions' Week 9 bye, Reynolds has since seen his role on offense almost completely evaporate. He's played just nine total snaps on offense and hasn't logged any carries or targets over Detroit's last six contests.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Returns to small offensive role
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Reynolds logged three offensive snaps during Sunday's win over the Chargers.
With David Montgomery back in action, Reynolds returned to logging more than half of the available snaps on specials teams, just as he had when Montgomery was healthy early in the season. This arrangement presumably won't change as long as Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs stay healthy.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Expected to play Sunday
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Reynolds (hamstring/toe) is expected to suit up Sunday versus Baltimore, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Reynolds, who is officially listed as questionable, is expected to be on the field Sunday along with rookie Jahmyr Gibbs, who has already been cleared to return from a two-game absence. Though Gibbs will be the favorite to lead Detroit's backfield, Reynolds could handle a significant role on early downs with David Montgomery (ribs) already ruled out. However, Reynolds' involvement could be more dependent on game script, as Gibbs would likely dominate the snaps if the Lions should fall behind early and abandon the run game. The Lions will officially announce Reynolds' status roughly 90 minutes ahead of Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Tending to pair of injuries
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Reynolds was held out of Wednesday's walk-through practice due to hamstring and toe injuries.
With Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) sidelined for a second consecutive contest Sunday in Tampa Bay, Reynolds served as the Lions' top reserve running back until David Montgomery went down with a rib injury in the second quarter. The situation allowed Reynolds to rack up 12 touches for 43 yards from scrimmage on a 61 percent share of snaps. On Monday, head coach Dan Campbell revealed that Montgomery was in line to miss time, while Gibbs was trending in the right direction to return this Sunday at Baltimore. Indeed, Montgomery didn't practice Wednesday, and Gibbs was a limited participant, but Reynolds joined Montgomery as a non-participant. As a result, the backfield situation will need to be monitored as the week continues to see who among the trio may be able to play this weekend.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Takes over after Montgomery exits
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Reynolds rushed 10 times for 15 yards in Sunday's 20-6 win over Tampa Bay. He added two catches for 28 yards.
David Montgomery (ribs) exited the game in the second quarter while Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) was inactive for the second consecutive week. That left Reynolds to lead the backfield, and he found running room to be scarce, though Tampa Bay held Detroit to 1.8 yards per attempt on the ground overall. He also made a few key plays in the passing game, highlighted by a block on Amon-Ra St. Brown's touchdown just before halftime. While that won't help fantasy box scores, it could help keep Reynolds on the field as the lead back for a Week 7 matchup against Baltimore if Montgomery and Gibbs both remain sidelined.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Little production in larger role
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Reynolds rushed four times for 13 yards during Sunday's 20-6 win over Atlanta.
Reynolds ended up seeing 30 percent of the offensive snaps in the absence of David Montgomery (thigh) while Jahmyr Gibbs shouldered most of the rushing load. However, Detroit ended up working a third running back into the mix as well, with Zonovan Knight logging just as many rushing yards as Reynolds on one less carry and 13 fewer snaps. As it looks like Reynolds will not be a direct replacement for Montgomery, the former will be hard to trust even if Montgomery continues to miss time.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Week 3 Adds (RB Preview)
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I would not be surprised if Reynolds leads the Lions in rush attempts in Week 3 against the Falcons. Jahmyr Gibbs is a must-start back, but the rookie doesn't profile as a 20-touch back and the Lions feed their running backs. He's averaged 10.8 PPR Fantasy points in the three games he received double-digit touches.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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I wish we could say all the running back touches for the Lions in Week 3 were going to Jahmyr Gibbs with David Montgomery (thigh) not expected to play, but we know that's not likely to happen. Dan Campbell will lean on Reynolds, and he could be a surprise Fantasy option against the Falcons. Through two games, Montgomery is averaging 19 touches a game, and I wouldn't be shocked if Reynolds had more carries than Gibbs in this outing. Gibbs should be locked into your lineups as a top-tier Fantasy option, but Reynolds is a potential flex. Keep in mind that Montgomery has rushed for a touchdown in each of the first two games, so Reynolds could fall into the end zone against Atlanta at home.
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Lions' Craig Reynolds: No offensive snaps
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Reynolds did not log a snap on offense during Thursday's 21-20 win over the Chiefs.
Reynolds secured the No. 3 role at running back in the wake of Justin Jackson's retirement this summer. While he started the year totally contained to special teams as David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs shouldered the load, Reynolds may have contingent fantasy value in a strong Detroit offense should anything happen to either of the top two running backs.
