Former Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah will return to the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, after Abdullah signed a one-year deal with the team.

Abdullah started the 2018 season with the Detroit Lions, but was waived and claimed by the Vikings and appeared in seven games for the franchise. Abdullah was rarely used on offense — he didn’t record a carry and had just one catch for 10 yards for the franchise — but did find a role on special teams where he returned 10 kickoffs with an average of 25.8 yards per return.

“It was such a transition,” Abdullah said of the midseason move in an interview with Vikings.com “In the NFL, sometimes you think it’s a cookie-cutter league. You think you can go to a new team and just hit the ground running, but every team, I’ve learned, they lead themselves differently, and I respect how the Minnesota Vikings lead the organization. It really made me feel like I was at home. The brotherhood automatically clicked right away, and you can tell winning is the only goal, and they’re going to do what is right for the players to ensure that we get more wins.”

Abdullah will be entering his fifth season in the NFL, and looking to regain his role as a featured back. Abdullah was drafted by the Lions, but soon fell out of favor because of ball security issues. In his four seasons as a professional, Abdullah has totaled 1,251 yards on the ground, averaging 3.8 yards per carry, and six touchdowns. Abdullah has long been a versatile threat out of the backfield, making 58 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver.

According to 247Sports Vikings reporter Anthony Broome, Abdullah is the second-most experienced back with the Vikings behind Dalvin Cook with Mike Boone and Roc Thomas, who is currently dealing with a legal situation stemming from a marijuana-related arrest, as the players that currently fill out the depth chart at the position. Latavius Murray was thought to be a possibility to comeback, but signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints in free agency that will see him take on the Mark Ingram role in that offense next to Alvin Kamara.