Minnesota Vikings

Backfield boosted: Vikings claim RB Abdullah, waive RB Thomas

Published Nov. 7, 2018 5:58 p.m. ET

The Minnesota Vikings bolstered the depth of their backfield Wednesday, claiming running back Ameer Abdullah off waivers from Detroit. To make room on the roster, the Vikings waived running back Roc Thomas.

Selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2015 draft with the expectations he’d be manning the Lions’ backfield for years to come, Abdullah never lived up to the hype (partly due to injury), although he did lead the Lions in rushing in two of the past three seasons.

Abdullah’s best season was his rookie year when he gained 780 total yards on 168 touches, a 4.6 average. He was limited to two games in 2016 and bounced back to compile 552 rushing yards in 14 games last season.

Thomas was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in April. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp and appeared in five games, turning 10 touches into 51 total yards.

Abdullah joins Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray and Mike Boone in the Vikings backfield.