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Lions running back Ameer Abdullah has not played the last two weeks, but said on Tuesday that he feels 100 percent recovered from the neck injury he suffered against the Vikings on Thanksgiving.

That may not be enough for him to return to his spot in the lineup, however. Abdullah participated in practice last week before being declared inactive for the game against the Buccaneers and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that his spot on the bench had more to do with his play than his health.

Related players: Tion Green, Theo Riddick

As the Lions have struggled to run the ball again this year, the story noted that the team called passes on 71 percent of their plays against the Bucs last week. Riddick carried the ball 10 times for just 29 yards but did have two TDs.

The Detroit Lions spent half a year championing Ameer Abdullah as their No. 1 running back, then changed course abruptly on Sunday.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell declined to name Abdullah his starting running back after Sunday's 24-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Abdullah did not play despite being cleared to return from a neck injury.

Related players: Theo Riddick, Tion Green

The team said Abdullah is still nursing his injury but didn't go into detail about that. Riddick played a big role in the team's win over the Bucs so it's quite possible he continues to see a key role in the offense.

Tion Green said it hurt his heart to see the Detroit Lions' struggles at the goal line, knowing how productive he was in those situations back in college.

He wasted no time showing what he meant.

On a day when the Detroit Lions had little else to smile about in a 44-20 loss against Baltimore, the rookie running back shined bright. He ran for 33 yards on his first touch, then turned his first red zone touch into a six-yard touchdown.

He finished with a team-high 55 yards on 11 carries, and had the one score.

Related players: Ameer Abdullah, Dwayne Washington

We had a story on Green here at 4for4 just last week, with the coaching staff saying he was getting better in practices. Green prides himself on being a successful goal line back, something the Lions struggled at this season. Green hadn't seen the field after being an undrafted rookie out of Cincinnati. Both Abdullah and Washington were unavailable this week so it remains to be seen what Green's role will be if those guys are able to get back on the field.

Ameer Abdullah leads the Lions in rushing attempts with 101 carries on the season. Only 8 of those carries have occurred in the red zone, though, but that's not stopping Abdullah from saying he could be the team's red zone RB, saying "why not?", when talking about the situation.

Abdullah also has 0 carries on third downs this year, but even though the Lions' No. 1 RB believes he's an all-around back, he's not questioning the team's decision making.

"I'm never going to tell the coaches what to do," Abdullah said. "I mean, their job is to put us in situations, and it's my job to execute under any circumstance. It don't matter if he calls me a toss play with no blocking in front of me. I have to do my best. And I'm never going to tell the coaches what they should and shouldn't do."

Abdullah is tied with Dwayne Washington for the most red zone carries on the team (8), but Washington has out-rushed him (19 yards to 2 yards). And, of the team's 20 total red zone rushes, the Lions have only scored twice—Abdullah and Zach Zenner each scoring once.

More red zone carries would obviously benefit Abdullah's fantasy owners, and his elusiveness points to him being able to fill the role—according to Pro Football Focus, Abdullah has 17 broken tackles on the ground this season.

In a great matchup versus the Packers this week, we have Abdullah ranked as a top-20 RB in both standard and PPR formats.