NFL Player News

Williams and Chris Evans are slated to work behind Joe Mixon in Sunday's season opener against the Browns, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Rookie fifth-rounder Chase Brown is a candidate to join the team's backfield mix as the season rolls along, but he's inactive for Week 1. As a result, Williams and Evans are in line to handle complementary touches behind Mixon, with Williams a candidate to serve as an early-down backup and third-down work up for grabs.

The Eagles are expected to make Penny a healthy scratch for Sunday's game against the Patriots, Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Philadelphia will release its inactive list 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET, at which point Penny's status will be confirmed one way or another. If Penny ends up sitting out Week 1 as expected, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott would likely take on elevated roles behind presumptive starter D'Andre Swift.

Hasty (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Colts, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Hasty served as Jacksonville's No. 2 running back for most of the 2022 campaign and totaled 320 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on 66 touches, but he's No. 4 on the depth chart to begin 2023. Rookie third-round pick Tank Bigsby and free-agent signing D'Ernest Johnson will serve as the secondary and tertiary options, respectively, to starting tailback Travis Etienne in the season opener at Indianapolis.

Davis-Price (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Steelers.

Davis was able to secure a spot on the 53-man roster, but he still remains behind Jordan Mason for the No. 3 role at running back. The 23-year-old will now work to earn a chance to suit up next Sunday against the Rams.

Vaughn (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game at Minnesota, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official sitereports.

The 26-year-old missed a practice this week after being displeased with his spot on Tampa Bay's season-opening depth chart, so it's not a major surprise he's not suiting up Sunday. Vaughn reportedly worked out his issues with the team, but Rachaad White, Sean Tucker and Chase Edmonds will be the Buccaneers' active running backs for Week 1.

Williams will serve as the Saints' lead running back Sunday against the Titans with Kendre Miller (hamstring) inactive, Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Once news broke in early August of Alvin Kamara's three-game suspension to begin the season, Williams at least was poised to share backfield work with Miller, a rookie third-round pick. But Miller hasn't been able to practice since late August due to a hamstring injury, leaving the bulk of RB reps to Williams. The only New Orleans backs that are active Sunday are Kirk Merritt and Tony Jones, while Taysom Hill also may get the occasional carry. Williams is coming off a career-best campaign in which he notched 274 touches for 1,139 yards from scrimmage and 17 rushing TDs in 17 games, so he's primed to keep the momentum going in the early going this year.

Ogunbowale (hamstring) is inactive for Sunday's game against Baltimore.

Ogunbowale has been dealing with a hamstring injury that forced the running back to miss Houston's last two preseason games. This leaves Dameon Pierce, Devin Singletary and Mike Boone in the Texans backfield for Sunday's contest.

With Zack Moss (forearm) inactive, Jackson is likely to start at running back for the Colts on Sunday against the Jaguars, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Given that Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is on the PUP list and Moss is unavailable, the Colts figure to employ some sort of backfield committee led by Jackson in Week 1. Also in the mix for touches versus Jacksonville are rookie Evan Hull and Jake Funk to a lesser degree, but Jackson at least offers an option to fantasy managers in deep leagues or who are otherwise scrambling for Week 1 RB help.

Brown (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Browns.

A rookie fifth-round pick, Brown had an underwhelming preseason but still landed a spot on the Bengals' 53-man roster. However, it appears the Illinois product is still buried on the depth chart, as Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans will operate as the primary backups to Joe Mixon in Week 1.

Patterson (thigh) is inactive for Sunday's matchup against the Panthers, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Patterson suffered a soft-tissue injury in mid-August and was sidelined for the remainder of the preseason. He returned to practice Wednesday but logged three straight limited sessions before garnering a questionable designation. It's not surprising to see Atlanta exercise caution here, as Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier were expected to handle most of the backfield snaps anyway. Godwin Igwebuike, who was elevated Saturday, will serve as the depth running back versus Carolina.