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ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Running back Ameer Abdullah is a long shot to play this week against the Green Bay Packers after initial tests showed that he sprained his left foot in Sunday's loss to the Titans. Abdullah, the Lions' leading rusher with 101 yards on 18 carries this season, hobbled off the field after a 24-yard run late in the second quarter. He's scheduled to get a second opinion on his foot this week.
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If Abdullah can't play, Theo Riddick will start at running back and rookie Dwayne Washington will see an expanded role as a backup. Washington had 31 yards on four carries Sunday and serves as the Lions' primary kick returner and short-yardage back.
"You've got to be able to have a unique ability to evade tacklers either by running over them or around them. He has ability to do both," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "He's a pretty powerful guy. He's fairly close to 230 pounds, and he's got speed. He runs behind his pads, but it's just been a sampling of him right now at this point in time, so we'll see what happens if he gets an opportunity to get a few more carries. But he has ability."
--The Lions are so thin at the linebacker position that they finished Sunday's game with defensive end Brandon Copeland playing alongside Tahir Whitehead in nickel packages.
DeAndre Levy did not play against the Titans because of a quadriceps injury - Caldwell refused to rule out Levy missing the rest of the season because of the injury - and Kyle Van Noy (calf) and Antwione Williams (thigh) left the game with injuries.
The Lions are currently down five of their top six options at the position. Along with Levy, Van Noy and Williams, the Lions placed Jon Bostic (foot) on injured reserve and released Josh Bynes (knee) from injured reserve with an injury settlement in the hopes of re-signing him later in the year.
Whitehead and Thurston Armbrister, who plays primarily on special teams, are the Lions' only two healthy linebackers.
NOTES: Tight end Andrew Quarless was released by the Lions on Monday, the day he was eligible to return from a two-game suspension for firing a gun in public in Miami Beach on July 4, 2015. He was sentenced to one year of probation and given a $1,000 fine after pleading no contest last November. ... Defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker made his second straight start Sunday next to Haloti Ngata, but he played just 22 snaps. With Walker mostly ineffective in the game, the Lions used Khyri Thornton as their No. 2 defensive tackle and gave rookie A'Shawn Robinson and backup Stefan Charles double-digit snaps. ... Defensive end Devin Taylor had a big game after Ziggy Ansah left in the first series with an ankle injury. Taylor had seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and a safety. "Devin did a nice job and certainly was able to collapse the pocket some there," Caldwell said. "We were able to get a little bit of pressure on the quarterback and I think overall he played pretty well."
