It looks as though Tatum Bell will be the Lions' starting running back when the season starts.
Kevin Jones is likely going to stay on the PUP list after meeting with the doctor that performed surgery on him. Although his injury is healing, both the doctor and the Lions would rather be careful and wait.
Because the Lions have a bye week in the sixth week of the season, Jones will only miss five games. Jones will be eligible to return on Oct. 21 in the home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The reason I used the wording of "likely staying on the PUP list" is because the Lions have until Saturday to make a decision. They haven't formally announced anything yet, but all signs point to Jones remaining on the PUP list.
This worries me in one respect because if the running game suffers horribly, Detroit can't do anything about it really until Jones returns after 6 weeks. At the same time, I'm glad Detroit is taking its time with Jones. Rushing him back on the field could hurt him in the long run, which hurts Detroit even more. As long as he returns at full health and is ready to roll after 6 weeks, it'll be fine. Now I just hope that Tatum Bell steps it up to fill the void now presented. He has to perform well, otherwise Detroit will be very 1-dimensional.