The 2025 season has not gone to plan for the Detroit Lions, who have been hit hard by the injury bug for the second consecutive year. The Lions have seen multiple starters and young players go down, which has hurt them in all three phases of the game.
One of the players who has been banged up this season is second-year running back Sione Vaki. The Lions were hoping that Vaki, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2024, would be a major player on special teams and maybe solidify himself as the RB3 behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
However, the former Utah Ute standout could not shake the injury bug that has plagued him since the start of training camp, where he sustained a hamstring injury. That said, the Lions still believe in the young running back.
According to Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit, Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp was “gushing over” Vaki’s year on special teams when speaking earlier this week.
Sione Vaki Still Has Support from Inside the Lions’ Organization
Now, Lions fans don’t feel the same way about Vaki, who has missed six games this year due to injury. They haven’t seen anything tangible from the 24-year-old, who they thought would be one of the Lions’ returners this season.
However, veteran wide receiver Kalif Raymond and first-year running back Jacob Saylors have done a good job handling the returns.
Vaki has appeared in 10 games this season, playing special teams (173 snaps). He only has two kick returns on his 2025 resume, but 10 special teams tackles.
While that likely works for Fipp and his kick coverage unit. It doesn’t move the needle for some Lions fans, who have expected more from the second-year running back, especially when you see a guy like Saylors, who has played spring football for the last couple of years and quickly stepped into the role.
Saylors is averaging 27.2 kick return yards per game (good for sixth in the NFL) and has a total of 897 kick return yards (ranked ninth in the NFL). Also, Saylors plays on the coverage unit too, just like Vaki.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what Vaki’s future holds as he heads into the offseason. Even though he’s still garnering favor from Fipp, the Lions will likely want to see the former fourth-round pick be a contributor and stay healthy.
If Vaki can’t do those things and gets outplayed in training camp in the summer, there will be a tough conversation to be had among the Lions' coaches and front office.