- Lions DE Ziggy Ansah is expected to be out through at least next week as he continues to battle a high ankle sprain, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Ansah will get a second opinion on that injury later this week.
- Lions LG Laken Tomlinson has had a very disappointing start to the season, but Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Detroit has no other choice but to continue relying on last year’s No. 28 overall selection, as 2016 fifth-rounder Joe Dahl does not appear ready to step into the starting lineup.
SUNDAY, 10:05am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted earlier this morning that the Lions were hopeful that Abdullah would return from IR shortly after the team’s Week 10 bye. However, a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter shortly thereafter indicated that the Lions believe Abdullah has a torn ligament in his left foot and will miss the remainder of the season.
WEDNESDAY, 08:38am: The Lions have placed running back Ameer Abdullah on injured reserve, as Justin Rogers of The Detroit News tweets. The Lions have confirmed the news via press release. 
Abdullah injured his foot on Sunday and it was initially believed to be a sprain. Yesterday, the tailback visited Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte and apparently received some bad news. It’s not necessarily known if Abdullah suffered a fracture, but – at minimum – his sprain was more severe than initially thought. Thanks to the league’s new IR rules, Abdullah is not necessarily done for the season, of course. In theory, Abdullah could come back in two months and suit up as soon as Week 11.
With Abdullah out, the Lions will give more carries to Theo Riddick. Of course, Riddick is more of a pass-catching specialist than a workhorse back, so we can expect to see additional work for rookie Dwayne Washington as well. Washington is a bit of an unknown, but coach Jim Caldwell has been talking him up all summer.
The Lions also announced that they have signed running back George Winn and linebacker Zaviar Gooden to the practice squad. To make room, guard Chase Farris and wide receiver Isaac Fruechte have been cut.
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Aaron Dobson could be back on the workout circuit again after the Lions made the decision to waive the former Patriots wideout in advance of their Week 3 game against the Packers, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The Lions, who are without DeAndre Levy and Antwione Williams for Sunday’s game, promoted linebacker Zaviar Gooden from their practice squad, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
Since Dobson is in his fourth season, he does not have enough service time to qualify as a vested veteran. He will head to waivers and would have an interesting employment case since five teams saw enough to give him auditions in between his failure to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster and his signing with the Lions.
The former second-round pick’s Lions stay didn’t last long, however. He did not make it a week. Dobson worked out for the Jets, Eagles, Chargers, 49ers and Lions this month.
Provided no one claims him on waivers or signs him subsequently as a free agent in the event he reaches free agency again, the Lions could look to re-sign Dobson after their linebacker situation improves.
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Guards Vlad Ducasse and Josh LeRibeus joined cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and D’Joun Smith in trying out for the Lions on Friday, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).
The most experienced of the four is the 28-year-old Ducasse, who combined for 78 appearances and 22 starts with three teams from 2010-15. Ducasse, whom the Jets chose in the second round of the 2010 draft, started a career-high 11 games as a member of the Bears last season.
Chekwa spent the first four years of his career with the Raiders, who grabbed him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. The 28-year-old logged 32 appearances and four starts along the way, though he was out of action in 2015 after the Dolphins cut him from their injured reserve last September. Miami brought back Chekwa to compete for a roster spot over the summer, but he didn’t make it through their final cuts.
Both LeRibeus and Smith are recent third-rounders. LeRibeus went to Washington in 2012, and after accruing little playing time in his first few seasons, he piled up personal bests in appearances (16) and starts (11) last year. The Colts selected Smith a year ago, but he spent time on IR-DTR and only played in four games. Indianapolis then waived the 23-year-old this summer, and he worked out for the Saints on Thursday.
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- Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah is getting a second opinion on his high ankle sprain, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Typically, that’s not a great sign. Lions running back Ameer Abdullah got a second opinion on his sprained foot earlier this week and wound up being ruled out for at least two months. With fellow defenders Devin Taylor and DeAndre Levy also nursing injuries, Detroit can’t afford to lose its star playmaker in Ansah.
After the Lions placed running back Ameer Abdullah on injured reserve Wednesday, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead reported that the team was considering signing free agent Ray Rice (Twitter link). That won’t happen, however.
“We are NOT signing Ray Rice, never have even discussed him. 1000% false,” a Lions executive told ESPN’s Adam Schefter via text message (Twitter link).
The 29-year-old Rice is familiar with Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, who was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2012-13. Those were Rice’s final two years in Baltimore, where he spent six seasons and rushed for over 1,100 yards in four individual campaigns. Rice has been out of the league since the Ravens released him in September 2014, when video of him knocking out his then-fiancee in a hotel elevator surfaced. Rice has seemingly cleaned up his act off the field since, leading Schefter to report on opening weekend that the three-time Pro Bowler could receive another chance sometime this year.
Rice’s potential next opportunity won’t come with the Lions, who are wary of adding any figures with controversial pasts to their team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Rookie general manager Bob Quinn said during the offseason that Detroit wanted no part of players connected to “domestic violence and dangerous weapons,” but he then went against his word in signing tight end Andrew Quarless in August. Quarless previously earned a two-game ban for discharging a gun in public in July 2015. That suspension is now over for Quarless, whom the Lions released this week.
Without Abdullah, the 1-1 Lions are set to rely on Theo Riddick, Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner at running back. They did work out one of their former backs, Joique Bell, on Tuesday, though no deal has materialized. Aside from Rice and Bell, other notable rushers who are currently unemployed include Karlos Williams, who’s halfway through a four-game suspension for substance abuse, and C.J. Spiller.
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Detroit Lions
Aaron Dobson‘s workout tour is finally over. Today, the Lions agreed to sign the former Pats wide receiver, as freelance reporter Rand Getlin tweets. 
[RELATED: Lions Work Out Joique Bell]
Dobson’s signing could signal that the Lions are set to go with five wide receivers. Alternatively, it could mean that Andre Roberts‘ time is through in Detroit. Roberts currently sits at the bottom of Detroit’s four-man WR depth chart behind Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and Anquan Boldin.
Dobson has yet to impress in his three NFL seasons to date but he is hoping to show the talent that made him a second-round pick in 2013. The Marshall product had his moments in his rookie campaign, compiling 37 receptions for 519 yards and four touchdowns. Since then, however, Dobson has only hauled in 16 catches for 179 yards in 12 games.
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Running back Joique Bell worked out for the Lions today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Bell, of course, played for the Lions from 2012-2015. 
If Bell looks good and Ameer Abdullah‘s prognosis doesn’t improve, the Lions could theoretically turn to the veteran for support in the backfield. Abdullah suffered a left foot sprain over the weekend and is currently being examined by a specialist in Charlotte, North Carolina. Right now, the expectation is that the sophomore will miss only one or two games, but we should have a better handle on his condition by the end of the day.
In 13 games for Detroit last season, Bell racked up 311 yards off of 90 carries with four touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 286 yards. Despite giving the Lions multiple seasons of production, Bell was cut earlier this year to save $1MM against the cap.
Currently, the Lions have Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Dwayne Washington, and Zach Zenner at running back.
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By the time Aaron Dobson gets done with his workout tour, he might have a practice jersey for all 32 NFL teams. Today, Dobson auditioned for the Lions, according to freelance reporter Rand Getlin (on Twitter). 
Dobson was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2013 but never broke out as the team hoped he would. Earlier this month, the Pats cut him loose and opted to go with only five wide receivers on the 53-man roster (Actually, if you consider that special teams ace Matthew Slater rarely lines up as a receiver, the Patriots really went with four WRs to start the season).
Dobson’s world tour has seen him audition for the the Jets, Eagles, 49ers, and Chargers in recent days. The Lions currently have Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin, and Andre Roberts at wide receiver and they could be keeping Dobson in mind as an option should they lose one of them to injury.
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