Avoiding offseason surgery

Swift said Monday that he won't require offseason surgeries to address the ankle and shoulder injuries he played through for most of the 2022 campaign, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Though Swift noted that he plans to visit with "a couple doctors" in the coming weeks, he believes that he'll return to full health over the offseason simply through rest and rehab. After amassing a career-high 144 rushing yards on 15 carries while playing 65 percent of the offensive snaps in the Lions' Week 1 loss to the Eagles, Swift never surpassed those three numbers over his subsequent 13 appearances on the season. Instead, the Lions leaned heavily on Jamaal Williams as their lead option on the ground the rest of the way, while Swift logged double-digit carries on just two other occasions and operated as the team's top pass-catching back. Swift still proved to be dynamic as a ballcarrier (5.5 yards per carry), so if he's able to enter the 2023 season in optimal health, he could siphon more work away from Williams, a pending free agent whom the Lions are presumably interested in re-signing.