Jermar Jefferson has waited more than three years for another opportunity.
The Detroit Lions running back, who last played in a regular season game during his rookie season in 2021, could see action on Sunday after the team promoted him from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday.
Running back David Montgomery suffered a MCL injury during the Lions' 48-42 loss to Buffalo last weekend and he is expected to be out for at least the final three games of the regular season. Jefferson is looking forward to the rare opportunity to show what he's capable of doing on the field when the Lions face the Chicago Bears.
"What do they say in the NFL? One goes down next man up. I feel like I've got the next-man-up mentality and I've been ready for this opportunity for awhile," Jefferson told reporters. "With David out, (I'm hoping) for a big role. We'll see. I'm going seize the moment on any opportunity I get out there."
Jefferson last played in a regular season game during the Lions' 30-12 Week 15 win over the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, running five times for nine yards. He appeared in seven games that season, rushing 15 times for 74 yards with two touchdowns.
The Lions still have starter Jahmyr Gibbs, who has rushed for 1,047 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Backups Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki are also available, but Jefferson did impress the Lions with his athletic ability during training camp.
"Jermar - tremendous short-area quickness, good vision in the run game," Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery told reporters. "Did a tremendous job in camp of creating a lot of explosive (plays). He actually might have had the most explosives in camp in real running settings. He did a really good job for us."