In Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, the Lions have a running back tandem likely to garner most of the carries and catches out of the backfield this season.
However, it appears second-year tailback Theo Riddick hasn’t hurt his cause to get a little work here and there, too.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell gave Riddick’s offseason work a positive review Thursday, noting the second-year tailback from Notre Dame “had a very good spring,” per Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
“He’s eager, he’s hungry, he’s tough, he can run,” Caldwell said, according to MLive.com. “He’s a very, very fine route-runner. He can catch the ball.”
A 2013 sixth-round pick, Riddick rushed just nine times for 25 yards and caught four passes for 26 yards as a rookie. However, he was active for 14 games, and he contributed on special teams, recording seven solo tackles, according to club statistics.
If nothing else, Riddick’s special teams ability won’t hurt his prospects to at least be in uniform this season. Per MLive.com, Caldwell indicated Thursday that “even in my preliminary evaluation, just watching him in special teams last year, he jumps out at you.”
On the other hand, Riddick’s apparent strong spring might not help the prospects of fourth-year pro Mikel Leshoure working his way into a bigger role in the backfield in the final year of his contract.