Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford eyes rest in bid to heal injured finger

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford reiterated that he won't need surgery on his injured right middle finger.

Stafford suffered the injury in the first quarter of a Week 14 win over the Chicago Bears. He threw five interceptions in the four games after suffering the injury after tossing five in the first 12 games of the season.

"I think it's going to heal with rest," Stafford said. "That's my plan right now."

-- Speaking for the first time since he underwent foot surgery in September, Ameer Abdullah said he was "humbled" by an injury that kept him on the sidelines for the final 14 games of the regular season.

"I've never missed a game before up until this year, so (I) learned that you got to appreciate what I do a lot more than I was," Abdullah said. "I always thought I was a very thoughtful person until everything was taken away from me, in a sense. When things were taken away, it forces you to think more and to understand that this is a blessing that I've been given this opportunity. So just heading into the future, everything just means a lot more."

Abdullah ran for 101 yards on 18 carries this season and looked for a brief time like he might give the Lions' dormant running game the lift it's long been looking for.

The Lions finished 30th in the NFL in rushing, and Caldwell said the team needs to upgrade its "very, very inconsistent" running game this offseason. Abdullah, who led Detroit in rushing as a rookie despite playing two games with a torn labrum in his shoulder, said he hopes the Lions give him a chance to be lead back again next season.

"Coming into this league I had no other plans but to be a premier NFL back in this league, and I know I will be," Abdullah said. "It just takes patience, it takes prayer, it takes diligence, and coming from this injury - these injuries in the last year - it's just that much more important to me."

-- After leading the Lions with eight touchdown catches this year, wideout Anquan Boldin said he hopes to return next fall for a 15th NFL season.

"I haven't sat down with my family at this point, but there's still a passion that burns in me for football," Boldin said.

Boldin ranks ninth all-time with 1,076 catches and 14th with 13,779 receiving yards.