It doesn’t take much to lose a starting running back job in the NFL, but for at least the beginning of the season, the Detroit Lions are going to stick with Joique Bell.
Ameer Abdullah, the rookie out of Nebraska, was fantastic on his preseason debut with 67 yards against the New York Jets. However, he remains the number two guy on the depth chart, despite Bell still out after knee and achilles surgeries, not participating in training camp a single time.
Even his 2014 season wasn’t that great. He rushed for 860 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry, and scoring 7 touchdowns, which isn’t exactly stellar. But he probably is a better blocker than Abdullah at this point, and having the coaches know what they’re getting from his stands as an important point.
Usually, these things don’t end up well for the old guy. Bell has never been one who puts up big numbers and despite not missing more than one game over the last three seasons, he isn’t in the best of spots considering the younger competition at this position is always very difficult to hold back.