Detroit Lions RB Ameer Abdullah sees value in watching practice

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Lions running back Ameer Abdullah has been sidelined for his second NFL offseason, but he sees value in assessing the game without practicing.

"I feel like it's actually helped me a lot, just mentally, just watching from a coaching perspective," he said after minicamp on Wednesday.

He said later, "I understand why we do things more and where people are going to be, so like I said, it's been a very mentally challenging."

For a Lions team that ranked 32nd in rushing last year, the hope is that Abdullah can make considerable improvement in 2016. He showed promise as a rookie, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, but five fumbles limited his touches.

The only information Abdullah provided about his shoulder injury this winter when surgery only became public knowledge a few weeks ago was that he suffered it "playing football."

Abdullah peaked at 16 carries in a game, so he can obviously contribute more. Whether he gets that chance is unclear as the team hopes to use receiving dynamo Theo Riddick more in the run game, and Zach Zenner and Stevan Ridley could contend for carries, too.

And, partly because Abdullah has yet to practice this offseason, coach Jim Caldwell wouldn't commit to him being more involved this season.

"He led our team in all-purpose yardage," Caldwell said. "He's probably going to be somewhere close to that again this year, I would hope and think, but he'll be just as involved as he was a year ago."

--Rookie defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson looked a bit out of place among the defensive backs and wide receivers using the JUGS machine on Tuesday, but he caught all 40 of the quick passes. And Robinson said his goal isn't to improving his receiving skills. "Really, I do it just to work on my hands, hand quickness, to make sure my hand-eye coordination (improves)," he said.

The 312-pound Robinson, who has been mostly worked with the first-and second-team defenses this offseason, said he worked with the JUGS machine at Alabama, and Tuesday wasn't the first time he'd done so with the Lions.

Jim Caldwell said it's not surprising to see a multi-talented defensive linemen, and Robinson obviously isn't the first defensive linemen to work on his hands after practice. "Have you seen Haloti (Ngata) throw the ball, catch the ball, Haloti played some fullback," Caldwell said. "You've probably seen (Riley) Reiff, played some quarterback. So, there are a lot really good athletes that are playing in those lines that are doing a pretty good job, and Ziggy (Ansah) obviously with his speed. So, it's not uncommon, not at this level.

--LB Stephen Tulloch was excused for minicamp. The team plans to cut Tulloch and it remains a mystery why he still remains on the roster four months after being informed he had no future in Detroit.