NFL Player News

The Vikings have not lost confidence in Mattison despite Wednesday's trade for Cam Akers, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips told reporters Thursday. "Unfortunately we've had a couple turnovers in the run game where we obviously need to clean that up. Everyone's aware of that. But we still feel very strongly in Alex and [backup Ty Chandler] and those guys being able to go in and produce," Phillips told ESPN.

Mattison has had a slow start to the season with a lost fumble in Week 2 and just 62 yards rushing on 19 carries for a paltry 3.3 YPC. Akers may not play much this week against the Chargers as he gets up to speed on the offense, but could quickly move past Ty Chandler for the backup role. Given Mattison's struggles, it's not hard to envision Akers moving into a time share with Mattison. However, Akers still has much to prove after his own underwhelming performance this season (29 yards rushing on 22 attempts in Week 1).

Strong faces added competition for work in the Cleveland backfield following the team's addition of Kareem Hunt on Wednesday, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports.

In the wake of Nick Chubb's season-ending knee injury, Strong's profile in the Browns offense initially looked as though it could increase. While that's still possible to some degree, Strong's change-of-pace touches now are less clear following the signing of Hunt, who played for Cleveland from 2019 through 2022. For now, Jerome Ford is slated to work as the team's lead back, beginning with Sunday's game against the Titans. Assuming Hunt is active Week 3, he could end up serving as the top backup rather than Strong, who has been with the Browns for less than a month and didn't play his first snaps on offense until after Chubb exited Monday's loss to the Steelers.

The Rams traded Akers to the Vikings on Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Pelissero noted that the deal involves a swap of late-round draft picks in 2026. Akers fell out of favor in the Rams backfield after just one game this season, following up an ugly 22-carry, 29-yard effort Week 1 by going on the inactive list Week 2. Upon joining the Vikings, it may take some time for Akers to fit into a running back rotation with Alexander Mattison -- the clear top option -- and Ty Chandler. Akers will at least have prior experience with head coach Kevin O'Connell working in his favor, as O'Connell was the Rams' offensive coordinator during Akers' first two seasons in the NFL. Akers' first chance to suit up with his new squad arrives Sunday against the Chargers, though he may hold only a limited role if he's active for the contest.

Henry was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice due to a toe injury, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Henry is nursing an injury after playing 46 of 65 snaps on offense in this past Sunday's 27-24 overtime win over the Chargers en route to rushing 25 times for 80 yards and a touchdown while adding three catches for 15 yards. The Titans haven't provided any indication that the running back is in any danger of missing this weekend's game against the Browns, but he'll presumably need to log a full practice by Friday in order to avoid taking an injury tag into the weekend.

Etienne (cramps) isn't listed on Wednesday's injury report ahead of Sunday's game against Houston.

Etienne missed out on a few snaps in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 17-9 loss to the Chiefs after experiencing cramping, though it probably didn't cost him many fantasy points with Jacksonville looking to throw at that point. He'll continue as the team's lead back in the home opener this Sunday after taking 30 of the 39 running back carries and eight of the 10 targets in two straight road games to start the season. Etienne's 76 percent snap share through two weeks is similar to what he handled in most games last season after the Jaguars traded James Robinson to the Jets.

The Saints signed Jones from their practice squad to the active roster Wednesday, Brooke Kirchhofer of NewOrleans.Football reports.

With Alvin Kamara still serving a suspension, the Saints had only two active running backs Week 2 at Carolina. When Jamaal Williams (hamstring) departed in the second quarter, Jones and the versatile Taysom Hill combined to lead the backfield, with the former salvaging his day with two rushing touchdowns. Overall, Jones had 12 carries for just 34 yards (2.8 YPC) and didn't haul in either of his two targets. Now that he's on the active roster and because Williams may miss some time due to his injury, Jones and rookie Kendre Miller (hamstring) may be tasked with handling most of the reps out of the backfield during Sunday's contest at Green Bay.

The Saints listed Miller (hamstring) as a full participant at Wednesday's walk-through practice, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Miller could easily show up as a limited participant Thursday or Friday if the Saints hold a proper practice on one of those days, but head coach Dennis Allen told John Hendrix of SI.com on Tuesday that the rookie running back would be "full go" during Week 3 prep. Thus, Miller's listing Wednesday is a good enough sign that he's closing in on his professional debut, especially considering that Alvin Kamara has one game left to serve for his suspension and Jamaal Williams may miss some time due to a hamstring injury. Ultimately, Friday's injury report will determine whether or not Miller has a designation ahead of Sunday's visit to Green Bay.

Williams (hamstring) didn't take part in Wednesday's walk-through practice, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Williams left Monday's eventual win at Carolina in the second quarter and was unable to return. On Tuesday, head coach Dennis Allen said that Williams will require "some time" to get past his hamstring injury, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. It's thus no surprise that Williams is opening Week 3 prep with no activity. If Williams is limited or sidelined Sunday at Green Bay, the Saints likely will roll with Tony Jones as their lead option on the ground, with Taysom Hill (knee) and potentially Kendre Miller (hamstring) also mixing in for change-of-pace work.

The Buccaneers placed Edmonds (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

Edmonds exited this past Sunday's win over the Bears due to a knee injury and was ruled out after halftime. On Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Edmonds was slated for an MRI, specifically referring to his MCL. While the extent of the injury isn't clear, Edmonds will miss at least the next four games. The Buccaneers will continue to lean on Rachaad White out of their backfield, with Sean Tucker operating as the clear top backup.

Ekeler (ankle) isn't practicing Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.

Head coach Brandon Staley said Monday that there's "no timeline" for Ekeler's return from the ankle injury that kept him out for this past Sunday's loss to the Titans, so it's no surprise that the star running back isn't practicing Wednesday. If Ekeler isn't ready to play this weekend at Minnesota, Joshua Kelley would be in line to handle the majority of backfield touches against a Vikings defense that allowed 259 rushing yards to the Eagles in Week 2.