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It was a little over a week ago when Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press uncovered that second-year running back Ameer Abdullah underwent shoulder surgery back in January; a fact that has since been confirmed by the team. Initial reports suggested that Abdullah may miss the entire offseason and may not be ready to go Week 1. However, Bob Quinn spoke to the media on Monday at a fundraising event and put those concerns to rest:
Bob Quinn said Ameer Abdullah (shoulder) will be ready for the start of training camp, Brandon Pettigrew (knee) will not
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) June 6, 2016
That's great news for the young running back, who many are expecting to break out this season. Our own Justin Simon believes he is the No. 2 candidate to have a breakout season. And Jim Caldwell thinks he's the player most likely to improve. If Abdullah is going to live up to the hype, he'll need as much preparation for the season as he can get, and this is great news for him.
The other side of that coin is the news of Brandon Pettigrew, who it appears will not be ready when camp starts mid-July. Pettigrew tore his ACL back in December and has since been rehabbing. The Lions have been struggling to fill his spot on the practice field, as starter Eric Ebron is also going through an undisclosed minor injury at the moment. Last week, the Lions signed undrafted free agent Ben McCord to the 90-man roster.