Ameer Abdullah

BIOGRAPHY

Ameer Abdullah was born on June 13th, 1993, in Homewood, Alabama. He is a running back in the National Football League.

He attended Abdullah high school, where he was a running and receiving threat and played for Coach Dickey Wright. Abdullah rushed for 1,800 yards and 24 touchdowns while catching 33 passes for 515 yards as a senior.

He played college football at the University of Nebraska; as a freshman in 2011, he saw action in every game and rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2012, he played in all 14 games with seven starts and helped Nebraska lead the Big Ten in both rushing and total offense. He rushed 226 times for 1,137 yards and eight touchdowns.

In 2013 as a junior, he ran for 1,690 yards and nine touchdowns on 281 carries during the season; he topped 100 yards in 11 of 13 games. As a senior in 2014, he rushed 21 times for a career-high 232 yards.

Abdullah was drafted in the second round with the 54th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2015 NFL Draft; he contributed on the offense and special teams as a return man. He finished the season with 143 carries, 597 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. He added 25 receptions, 183 receiving yards, and one touchdown reception; as a return man, he returned 37 kickoffs for 1,077 yards.

During the 2016 season, he began as the starting running back; he recorded 18 carries for 101 rushing yards and caught five passes for 57 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the 2017 season, he recorded 165 carries, 552 rushing yards, and a career-high four rushing touchdowns; he added 25 receptions, 162 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

On November 7th, 2018, Abdullah was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings; he served as Minnesota’s primary kick returner for the last seven games of the season after beginning the year with Detroit. He totaled 258 yards on ten kick returns with a long of 33 yards. Abdullah signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on March 18, 2022.