With NFL preseason games underway, the 53-man roster and practice squad evaluation period has officially begun for hundreds of players around the league. The Detroit Lions will hope some diamonds in the rough and vets emerge over the next few weeks to put themselves in a position to make the team.
At the same time, several ex-Lions are hoping to win a job with their new teams. One former Lions draft pick got off to a not-so-good start with the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, already putting himself on the chopping block.
Ex-Lions RB Ameer Abdullah Disappoints in Preseason Debut With San Francisco 49ers
On Saturday night, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that veteran running back Ameer Abdullah did not have his best night on the field. Abdullah not only had a fumble, but he also sustained a rib injury.
Not a good sequence for 49ers RB Ameer Abdullah. He fumbles and sustains an apparent ribs injury. The 49ers' medical staff is evaluating him. The 49ers are running low on halfbacks.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 10, 2025
This isn’t great news for the 49ers as their running back room is already missing two other guys due to injury. Meanwhile, for Abdullah, this is the worst possible time to suffer an injury, as they just signed him at the end of last month.
Given the depth of the 49ers’ RB room when healthy, Abdullah has an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster. Therefore, if anything, the ex-Lions running back is putting things on tape for the other 31 teams across the league.
Before signing with the 49ers a couple of weeks ago, the veteran running back spent the last three seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. With the Raiders, Abdullah spent a considerable amount of time on special teams.
However, last season, Abdullah had one of his better years as a professional, racking up 572 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns on 106 touches. The 32-year-old Abdullah began his career with the Lions, who took him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
The former second-round pick spent four-plus seasons in Detroit before the Lions waived him in November 2018, which led him to join the Minnesota Vikings. The veteran playmaker has found a way to stay employed and on an NFL roster for 10 years. We’ll see if this injury will hurt his chances of sticking with the 49ers or joining another team in the coming weeks.