Abdullah is expected to contribute heavily as a rookie -- pushing Joique Bell for playing time in the backfield while possibly returning kicks. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Lions signed wide receiver Greg Salas and cornerback Chris Owens to one-year contracts on Wednesday and also secured second-round running back Ameer Abdullah to a contract.
Those moves come on day after the Lions signed veteran wide receiver Lance Moore to a one-year deal.
The only rookie remaining unsigned is first-round guard Laken Tomlinson. The Lions also restructured the contract of veteran safety Glove Quin to give the team salary-cap room to finish signing its rookies, according to ESPN.com.
Salas, 26, will compete with Moore and others for a spot behind Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. Salas has 43 catches in four seasons with the St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets.
Owens, 28, has played in 83 games (17 starts) over the last six years for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. He likely will compete for a nickel role against Josh Wilson, Bill Bentley and rookie Alex Carter, among others.
Abdullah, the 54th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, is expected to contribute heavily as a rookie — pushing Joique Bell for playing time in the backfield while possibly returning kicks.
Terms of Abdullah’s deal were not revealed, but he was expected to receive a four-year deal worth about $4.2 million.
Quin’s simple restructure saved the team $2.17 million against this year’s salary cap. He merely reduced his salary from $4 million to the minimum $745,000 and received the remaining $3.255 million as a signing bonus that could be prorated over the next three seasons.
