It’s a good thing Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown just signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension because the wager he made with a teammate could turn out to be pretty expensive.
According to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard, St. Brown told second-year running back Jahymr Gibbs if he can total 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving this season, he’ll buy him anything he wants — a promise Gibbs plans on holding him to.
“I’m going to break his bank,” Gibbs said. “[I] might get a house.”
Gibbs certainly has his work cut out for him.
Only three players in NFL history have ever topped the 1,000-yard plateau both rushing and receiving in the same season — Christian McCaffrey in 2019 (1,387 rushing, 1,005 receiving), Marshall Faulk in 1999 (1,381 rushing, 1,048 receiving) and Roger Craig in 1985 (1,050 rushing, 1,016 receiving).
Gibbs was just 55 yards shy of rushing for 1,000 yards as a rookie last season. Although, he only started three games, and the majority of his carries came later in the season once David Montgomery went down with a leg injury.
Up until he started getting more carries as Detroit’s bell-cow back, Gibbs’ biggest contributions were actually in the passing game.
He had 28 receptions for 165 yards through his first six games, topping the five-reception mark three times, but he became less of a factor as a receiver the more his carries went up. (He totaled 24 receptions, 151 yards and one touchdown in his remaining nine games).
Most expect Gibbs to easily surpass 1,000 yards rushing, but doing so out of the backfield may prove to be a much more difficult task.