LAS VEGAS — Jason Cabinda wants to play for the Detroit Lions again in 2024, and the door is open for him to return. But the free agent fullback has something more pressing to take care of first.

“I think right now I’m just focusing on my body, doing what I can to get my body right, where I want it to be,” Cabinda told the Free Press at Super Bowl 58 last week. “Give myself the best chance to start preparing again, so we’ll see. Take a couple weeks to breathe, kick this knee up, let this knee heal up some, maybe take a trip and then see how I’m feeling.”

Cabinda spent most of this season on injured reserve tending to a cartilage problem in his knee.

He said he did not require surgery for the injury, but underwent three gel injections before returning to the field.

The Lions cut Cabinda for roster management reasons after they activated him from injured reserve in late December, but re-signed him to the practice squad and elevated him to the gameday roster for their regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings and all three playoff games.

ANALYSIS: Lions QB Jared Goff worth $50 million a year on new deal? 'What's the alternative?'

Cabinda had one catch for no gain in the Lions’ divisional-round playoff win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played 25 postseason snaps on offense as a fullback/blocking tight end and another 64 snaps on special teams.

“A lot of players go through a ton of injuries and a lot of rehab and stuff behind the scenes that people don’t even know about,” Cabinda said. “So that was difficult for me for sure, and then just the mental aspect of not being able to be out there and be with your teammates, and not feeling as useful cause you’re not out there playing and showing the world what you got.

“So just being able to mentally stay in it and get back to a place where I can get back on that field and be where I was supposed to be again was big for me again, so I’m thankful.”

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Carlos and Shawn" your go-to Detroit sports podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ] 

The Lions lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game to fall just short of the Super Bowl, and Cabinda said the way the game ended — with the Lions’ blowing a 17-point halftime lead — “definitely gave me a lot of motivation.”

“I feel like Ben (Johnson) feels,” Cabinda said of the Lions’ offensive coordinator, who withdrew his name from consideration for head coaching positions to pursue a Super Bowl in Detroit. “Unfinished business.”

If Cabinda returns in 2024, he’ll complete to be the lead blocker for what he called “the biggest dynamic duo of running backs in football right now.”

Lions running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 1,960 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns last season, and were the only set of teammates to each have at least 850 yards rushing. Montgomery had the second 1,000-yard rushing season of his career, and Gibbs ended his rookie season with 1,261 yards from scrimmage.

“Jah is a special dude,” Cabinda said. “I mean, the acceleration, the speed, vision, I mean he can do a lot. He can really do anything. And then the way D-Mo runs the rock, I mean the freaking attitude, does it not scream Detroit? That’s how I feel when I watch D-Mo run the rock, so those are just two dynamic guys that can really hurt you. And when you add me back there and we got power run game in and are able to do certain things of different stuff, it can be dynamic.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' Jason Cabinda has 'unfinished business,' wants to return in '24