NFL teams
Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

Lions RB Theo Riddick underwent surgery on both wrists

NFL, Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick ended up hurting more than his left wrist last season, an injury that sent him to injured reserve.

It turns out Riddick underwent surgery on both of his wrists, a source told ESPN. The Detroit Free Press first reported the surgeries.

The 25-year-old had a large cast on his left wrist in January during Detroit's locker cleanout session following the team's 26-6 loss to Seattle in the wild-card round, but declined to say at the time what the injury was or whether he had surgery on the wrist. Lions coach Jim Caldwell, after putting Riddick on injured reserve, also declined to say whether Riddick would need surgery.

Riddick played in 10 games last season for the Lions, starting eight of them and rushing a career-high 92 times for a career-best 357 yards. He also had 53 receptions for 371 yards before his injuries. Riddick last played in a game during Week 13 against the Saints, when he had four rushes for 2 yards and five receptions for 15 yards.

In 2015, Riddick set single-season Lions records for receptions and receiving yards by a running back with 80 catches for 697 yards. A sixth-round pick for the Lions in the 2013 draft, Riddick signed a three-year, $11.5 million contract extension just before the start of the 2016 season and has a cap hit of $2.15 million for the 2017 season.

He was initially used as a two-minute-drill back by the Lions but had his role expand this season in part because of a season-ending foot injury to Ameer Abdullah and also a change in the offense that saw him receive more carries out of the backfield than ever before as a change-of-pace back with Abdullah.

After Abdullah's injury, Riddick became Detroit's primary running back until he injured his ankle in Week 5 against Philadelphia. He returned in Week 8 against Houston and played in five more games before injuring his wrists -- injuries that ended up shutting him down for the season.

The Lions return their top four running backs from last season: Abdullah, Riddick, Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington.

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