The Lions opted to let running back Reggie Bush on Sunday against the Redskins, but it wasn’t because Bush thought his knee couldn’t hold up to the activity.
After the Lions’ 27-20 win in Washington, Bush said that he felt well enough to play on Sunday and mounted an unsuccessful effort to convince coach Jim Schwartz to let him suit up for the game. He also said that his absence will not extend through Week Four’s NFC North showdown with the Bears.
“I could have played today,” Bush said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I for sure could have played today, I just don’t know if I could have took a hit today on it. I practiced Friday, did a workout Saturday, ran. Everything was normal. I just wasn’t sure if I could take a hit yet. So that was the risk that we were dealing with. But this week I’ll be fine.”
Things worked out just fine for the Lions without Bush. Joique Bell had 132 yards from scrimmage in a fairly good Bush impersonation and the offense looked far more composed than it did in Week Two when Bush was forced out of the game. That’s a good thing to have under the belt moving on, as is the likelihood that Bush will be at or closer to 100 percent when he returns to the field.