Detroit Lions position battles and roster breakdown: Running back
By Zac Snyder
Who is back
If the Lions are to get better production out of their running game, they’ll have to get it from the usual suspects as the top four rotation of Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner all return.
That might be cause for concern, but Abdullah played just two games last season before missing the rest of the year because of a foot injury. It was a small sample size, but Abdullah posted a 5.6 yards per carry average on 18 carries before being lost for the season.
The entire outlook of the Lions’ running game might have looked different had Abdullah stayed healthy, giving some optimism with him healthy heading into 2017.
Mike James is also technically a returnee, although he was never part of the Lions’ active roster last season. James was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early last season, signed with the Lions as a practice squad player, re-signed with Tampa off the Lions’ practice squad in early November, then returned to the Lions’ practice squad after being waived by the Bucs in late November.