Ameer Abdullah's once-promising season might be over.
The Detroit Lions placed their starting running back on injured reserve Wednesday with a foot injury he suffered in last weekend's 16-15 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Abdullah leads the Lions with 101 yards rushing on 18 carries through the season's first two games. He hobbled off the field after a 24-yard run late in Sunday's first half.
While initial X-rays didn't show a fracture, Abdullah had enough swelling in his foot that the Lions sent him to Charlotte, N.C., to get a second opinion from renowned foot surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson on Tuesday.
With Abdullah gone, Theo Riddick takes over as the Lions' No. 1 running back, and rookie seventh-round pick Dwayne Washington slides into the backup role. Riddick had a career-high 11 carries but for just 37 yards against the Titans, while Washington has shown flashes of potential in limited use this season.
Zach Zenner, who was inactive the first two weeks of the season, will serve as the Lions' No. 3 running back for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, and the Lions worked out Joique Bell on Tuesday.
The team also has re-signed running back George Winn (U-D Jesuit) to the practice squad.
A second-round pick out of Nebraska last year, Abdullah led the Lions with 597 yards rushing as a rookie, when he played through a torn labrum in his shoulder the final two games of the year.
