Theo Riddick Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Lions RB Theo Riddick (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Rams. We don't have any details on his injury, but he didn't practice all week and might miss additional time. RB Dwayne Washington (ankle) is listed as questionable for Week 6 after returning to a limited practice on Friday. If he plays, he'd figure to share the backfield with Zach Zenner and the newly signed Justin Forsett. Unless we get some clarity on this situation between now and kickoff, it's a situation best avoided.

Lions RBs Theo Riddick (ankle) and Dwayne Washington (ankle) both missed their 2nd straight practices on Thursday, casting doubt on their availability for this weekend's game against the Rams. Their absences would leave Detroit with RBs Justin Forsett and Zach Zenner. We'll have another update on the situation tomorrow.

The Lions have signed RB Justin Forsett. The 30-year-old was completely ineffective in 3 games with the Ravens, averaging 3.2 yards per carry and 3.3 yards per catch. That followed a 2015 that saw him muster just 4.2 yards per carry and 4.9 yards per catch. Forsett is simply out of gas. He's not a significant threat to RB Theo Riddick. And a healthy Dwayne Washington should also be ahead of Forsett on the depth chart.

Although a Sunday morning Ian Rapoport report indicated the Lions are hopeful for RB Ameer Abdullah's return this season, ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting the opposite. According to Schefter, Detroit believes the torn ligament in Abdullah's left foot will cost him the rest of the year. As a fantasy football owner, your takeaway should be that Abdullah's outlook for 2016 is grim at best. He's cuttable in most leagues, though you can stash him for now if you have an IR spot or a particularly deep roster. Theo Riddick got off to a rough start Sunday against Green Bay, losing 10 yards on his 1st 5 carries of the game. That only adds upside to rookie RB Dwayne Washington, who was a popular waiver target heading into Week 3. Washington should be owned in most leagues of 10+ teams coming out of this weekend.

The Lions have placed RB Ameer Abdullah on IR with the foot injury suffered last week, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We're still waiting to find out more about Abdullah's exact injury, and there's a chance Detroit will slap him with the designated-to-return label. Even that would cost him the next 8 weeks, though, so go ahead and drop Abdullah in fantasy leagues. Theo Riddick takes over as Detroit's lead runner and will maintain a big passing-game role. He has a shot at weekly RB2 value. Dwayne Washington also figures to take on a bigger role and is worth a wait-and-see stash. Zach Zenner also figures to play after being a healthy scratch the first 2 games.

Lions RB Theo Roddick left in the 2nd half of Sunday's game at Indy to be evaluated for a concussion. We'll keep an eye out for the results. Roddick carried 5 times for 26 yards -- including a 21-yard TD run -- and caught all 3 of his pass targets before leaving.

Update: Riddick returned near the middle of the 4th quarter.

Lions TE Eric Ebron got carted off the practice field Saturday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the team fears an injury to his Achilles' tendon, with a tear being the obvious implication. If that proves to be the case, Ebron would almost certainly miss the season. We'll keep an eye out for confirmation, but you should count Ebron out of your plan if you're drafting right now. Detroit sports no obvious immediate replacement for Ebron at TE, so his injury would likely shift more targets toward RB Theo Riddick and the wideouts.

Lions RB Theo Riddick missed Sunday's practice with an unspecified injury, according to MLive.com. He did watch the workout from the sideline, and HC Jim Caldwell didn't sound worried. "Anytime you don't have someone out there you'd like them to be out there working," he said. "But he'll be all right." We won't worry about the situation or adjust Riddick's outlook unless he misses significant time or we hear something more pessimistic from Detroit.

The Lions have released RB Joique Bell, saving $2.5 million against the 2016 salary cap.  Bell turns 30 in August and averaged a career-worst 3.5 yards per carry this past season.  He won't draw much interest on the open market and isn't a good bet to be a fantasy asset this year.  Detroit moves forward with Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner in the backfield.  The 5'11, 222-pound Zenner might be the biggest winner from Bell's departure and will be a name to track this offseason.

Lions RB Theo Riddick will “likely” handle a bigger role next season, per beat writer Kyle Meinke. Riddick just led all RBs in receptions (80) and finished 2^nd in receiving yards (697). So an increased role would likely come in the ground game, where he handled only 43 carries for 133 yards (3.1 YPC). We’ll see if Detroit retains Joique Bell and his $2.5 million base salary, but they’re a lock to search for O-line upgrades. The arrow is pointing up for Riddick entering year 4 – even with Ameer Abdullah set atop the depth chart.

Lions RB Ameer Abdullah fumbled on an early 3rd-quarter run and hasn't returned to the game since. He recovered the fumble and was clearly dealing with abdominal pain after the play, but the team had yet to announce an injury as of the middle of the 4th quarter. It's certainly a situation to monitor. Theo Riddick took over the backfield afterward, with Joique Bell and Zach Zenner already injured.

UPDATE: Abdullah returned for OT.

Lions RB Theo Riddick (groin) is active for today’s game against the Bears. He’ll continue to see a good deal of passing-down work, but his value is dependent on Detroit playing from behind. That might not be the case today.

Lions RB Theo Riddick (groin) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game against the Bears. He popped up on the injury report on Thursday and then did not practice on Friday. Owners shouldn’t be counting on him this week. Riddick’s absence would likely mean more passing-down work for RB Ameer Abdullah.

Undrafted free agent RB Zach Zenner latched on with the Lions.  Zenner hails from South Dakota St. but gained a cult following in the pre-draft process thanks to an impressive combination of production and measurables.  He posted 3 straight 2,000-yard rushing seasons with 58 TDs over that span.  He also caught 77 balls during that 3-year stretch.  Then Zenner checked into the Combine at 6'0, 223 pounds and ran a 4.60-second 40-yard dash with a 41-inch vertical and 121-inch broad.  That gave him the 2nd highest SPARQ score in this year's RB class -- behind new teammate Ameer Abdullah.  Detroit's backfield is currently a bit crowded with the 2 rookies, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick.  But Bell turns 29 in August and Riddick only looks like a pass-catcher.  Zenner is capable of emerging as a "big back" complement to Abdullah down the road.

The Lions snatched up RB Ameer Abdullah with the 54th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.  The Nebraska product topped 1,600 rushing yards in each of the past 2 seasons while averaging a combined 6.1 yards per carry.  Abdullah goes just 5'9, 205 pounds and ran a 4.6-second 40 time at the Combine.  But he crushed the other drills and profiles as a more athletic Gio Bernard.  Adbullah's biggest issues are his ball security and pass protection -- 2 traits that can be improved.  He joins a Lions backfield that features Joique Bell as the early-down runner and Theo Riddick as the passing-down back.  Abdullah could finish with more total touches than both guys this season.

The Lions have released RB Reggie Bush, saving about $1.7 million against the 2015 cap.  Bush's name is bigger than his game at this point.  He turns 30 in a week and averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per catch this past season.  He'll get a crack somewhere else in 2015 but might not be much of a fantasy factor.  Meanwhile, Bush's departure creates a big opportunity for Theo Riddick to step into the primary pass-catching RB role.  Riddick averaged 9.3 yards and scored 4 TDs on 34 grabs last year.

Lions RB Reggie Bush (ankle) is inactive for today's game against the Bears.  It's his 3rd straight missed game and 5th total this season.  Theo Riddick gets another game as Detroit's pass-catching back but is a low-end RB3 or flex in PPR leagues.