NFL Player News

McCaffrey said after Thursday's OTAs that he's looking forward to sustaining another heavy workload in 2026, and that any reductions in touches should come in practice rather than games, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

"I think everything else can be monitored during the week or with a practice schedule or certain ways you train, whatever it may be," McCaffrey said. "But when it comes to game days, I like to think you prepare yourself for playing every snap." McCaffrey handled a career-high 413 touches during the 2025 regular season, leading the NFL in that category for the third time in his nine-year career. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said earlier in the offseason that the team would like to provide McCaffrey more help in the backfield to ensure the star running back stays fresh and effective down the stretch, but McCaffrey has no plans to cede a significant share of regular-season snaps to any of Jordan James, Kaelon Black, Isaac Guerendo (pectoral), Patrick Taylor, Jordan Mims or Jermar Jefferson, all of whom are competing for slotting behind McCaffrey on San Francisco's running back depth chart.

Saints head coach Kellen Moore said Thursday that Miller (ACL) is not practicing during OTAs as he continues to progress through his rehab, Arye Pulli of USA Today reports.

Miller is recovering from a torn ACL suffered Week 7 of the 2025 campaign, an injury which derailed what was otherwise shaping up to be an impressive season. Prior to tearing his ACL, Miller had compiled a 47-193-1 rushing line across seven games while handling a complementary role behind Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle). He also had five catches for 30 yards and 393 kickoff-return yards. Now, in addition to completing his rehab and making a full recovery, Miller faces the difficult task of competing for a role behind new No. 1 option Travis Etienne, Kamara, and 2025 sixth-rounder Devin Neal (hamstring).

Blue is competing with Malik Davis and Phil Mafah for No. 2 running back reps behind starter Javonte Williams at OTAs, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.

Blue, a 2025 fifth-round pick, was a healthy scratch for 12 games as a rookie and only tallied 38 carries for 129 yards and one score across the five regular-season appearances he did log. Among those games was Dallas' regular-season finale against the Giants in Week 18, however, in which Blue stepped into the No. 1 role with both Williams and Davis sidelined, totaling 16 carries for 64 yards and his sole career score. Blue is undersized at 5-foot-9, 196 pounds, but he boasts 4.38-second 40 speed and could carve out a change-of-pace role behind Williams with a strong offseason.

Lampe (undisclosed) is participating during the Patriots' OTAs.

Lampe spent the entire 2025 season on New England's injured reserve list, but he's apparently now in good enough shape to work with the team in at least a limited capacity. After the Patriots signed fullback Reggie Gilliam to a three-year contract during free agency, Lampe could be a longshot to make the final 53-man roster for 2026.

Guerendo is not participating in OTAs due to a torn pectoral, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The running back suffered the injury while lifting "about a month ago," per David Lombardi of SFStandard.com. Guerendo is expected back near the end of training camp, though he did already undergo surgery, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. The 2024 fourth-round pick did not receive a single carry in 2025 despite appearing in 14 regular-season games.

Jefferson signed with the 49ers on Thursday.

The running back played in two regular-season games for the Cardinals last year and a total of nine across the previous four regular seasons with the Lions. San Francisco's running back depth chart is led by Christian McCaffrey, Jordan James and Kaelon Black.

San Francisco signed Mims to a one-year contract Thursday.

Mims will now go to work with his third different team in as many years after spending the vast majority of last season on Tennessee's practice squad. While the 49ers' options at running back behind Christian McCaffrey are all unproven, 2025 fifth-rounder Jordan James, rookie third-rounder Kaelon Black and 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo (pectoral) are all working with an advantage over Mims in terms of draft capital.

Jennings (hamstring) is participating during the Patriots' OTAs, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Jennings was a scratch for the Super Bowl back in February because of a hamstring issue, but he is now doing drills alongside fellow RBs Rhamondre Stevenson and 2025 second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson. Stevenson and Henderson are essentially locked in as New England's final 53-man roster for 2026, leaving Jennings to compete with rookie seventh-rounder Jam Miller, Lan Larison and Myles Montgomery for whatever backfield work is left over.

Larison (foot) is participating in OTAs, Sophie Weller of Patriots Wire reports.

The running back suffered a season-ending foot injury during an August preseason game last year, but he appears to be healthy now. Per Weller, at this stage of the offseason, Larison seems to be leading the competition for the third running back spot behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. Jam Miller, Myles Montgomery and Terrell Jennings are also part of that competition.

Warren said Thursday that he's down to 205 pounds this season, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

Warren is listed at 215 pounds on the team's official site, and he looks noticeably slimmer at OTAs this week, according to Adamski. Warren set career highs as a rusher last season, carrying the ball 211 times for 958 yards and six touchdowns as part of the Steelers' backfield duo with Kenneth Gainwell, who left in the offseason as a free agent to join Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh replaced Gainwell with Rico Dowdle, and 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson is also in the backfield mix after rushing just 28 times for 69 yards as a rookie. Dowdle is more of a prototypical early-down runner at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, so perhaps Warren slimmed down to get quicker as a change-of-pace and satellite back after Gainwell was targeted 85 times in 2025. Across four NFL seasons, Warren has 167 career regular-season catches for 1,227 yards and two touchdowns.