Ameer Abdullah has shown flashes of brilliance since being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2nd round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In fact, on his first carry in the league, Abdullah scored on a 24-yard touchdown run against the San Diego Chargers.
Ameer Abdullah’s first career carry ended in a touchdown: http://t.co/xfb5yD9yYX pic.twitter.com/rDtippkWDp
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 13, 2015
Unfortunately, those flashes have been few and far between and many have questioned whether or not Abdullah has what it takes to be the starting running back for the Detroit Lions.
So far in 2017, he has rushed for 505 yards and three touchdowns while averaging just 3.4 yards per carry. In fact, since carrying the ball 20 times for 94 yards in a Week 4 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Abdullah has only run for 248 yards on 84 carries, which equates to 2.95 yards per attempt.
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After missing the Lions Week 13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a neck injury, all signs pointed to Abdullah returning to the lineup for Week 14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Abdullah is not expected to suit up against the Bucs on Sunday afternoon. But it’s not the neck injury that would be keeping him out, it’s his lack of performance when he has played.
#Lions RB Ameer Abdullah (neck, questionable) is not expected to play today, source said, though it's more for play than injury reasons. Detroit is trying other players to improve the run game.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 10, 2017
Though an official announcement on Abdullah’s availability has not yet been made, if Rapoport’s source is correct, it sure does sound like the Lions “powers that be” have decided to go in a different direction.
NOTE: The Lions inactive list will be released at 11:30 a.m.
If Abdullah does, in fact, miss another week, we are likely to see the workload split between Theo Riddick and rookie Tion Green.
Green, during last Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, rushed for 51 yards (33 came on his first carry) and a touchdown on just 11 carries.
