NFL Player News

The Vikings enter Week 1 with only Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin behind Mattison on the depth chart, the Star Tribune reports.

Mattison dealt with a minor injury in early August and didn't play in any preseason games, but he's been back in practice for a while now and is all set to lead the Minnesota backfield Week 1 against Tampa Bay. The extent of his workload remains to be seen, with a dominant share one of the possibilities given that Chandler and Gaskin are late-round picks in their mid-20s who combined for 20 touches last season. Both seem most likely to take playing time from Mattison in passing situations, if at all.

Rivers has a spot on the Rams' initial 53-man roster, Stu Jackson of the official team website reports.

The Rams kept both Rivers and Zach Evans behind Cam Akers and Kyren Williams. They won't necessarily stick with four RBs throughout the season, so either Rivers or Evans could be sent to the practice squad in the coming days/weeks. Rivers bounced between the practice squad and active roster as an undrafted rookie last year, playing 25 snaps on offense and 36 snaps on special teams in eight games for the Rams.

Evans has a spot on the Rams' initial 53-man roster, Stu Jackson of the official team website reports.

Evans is one of four running backs, joined by Cam Akers, Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers. It looks like Evans and Rivers are competing for the No. 3 job, which might mostly entail snaps on special teams to start the season. In any case, Akers remains the lead runner, and Williams seems to have locked down the second spot on the depth chart.

Vaughn has a spot on Tampa Bay's initial 53-man roster but appear vulnerable, Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Bucs kept four running backs, with Rachaad White the starter while veteran Chase Edmonds and rookie Sean Tucker represent Vaughn's competition for backup snaps. Vaughn has never lived up to his status as a third-round pick and enters the final year of his rookie contract having played far more snaps on special teams (386) than offense (247) through 37 career games.

Tucker earned a spot on Tampa Bay's initial 53-man roster, Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Tucker is joined by Rachaad White, Chase Edmonds and Ke'Shawn Vaughn in one of the weaker RB rooms in the league. It's a situation that makes Tucker arguably the most interesting undrafted rookie from a fantasy perspective, and even more so because he might've been a mid-to-late-round pick if not for a heart condition he plans to play with. It's unclear how backup roles behind White will be handled Week 1 at Minnesota, but the inactive lists ahead of a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday may provide at least one hint.

Chestnut has a spot on Tennessee's initial 53-man roster, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

The pecking order appears clear, as rookie third-round pick Tyjae Spears worked ahead of the other backs all preseason and thus figures to be the No. 2 RB behind Derrick Henry. The No. 3 role then fells to Chestnut, who appeared to overtake Hassan Haskins (undisclosed) even before Haskins' combination of an injury and off-field issue landed him on injured reserve and then the commissioner's exempt list. Haskins will be out for at least the early part of the season and the Titans didn't sign any RBs to their initial practice squad after cutdown day. While he'll presumably start the year on special teams or as a healthy scratch, Chestnut is just one injury away -- to either Henry or Spears -- from getting snaps on offense.

Davis-Price has a spot on San Francisco's initial 53-man roster.

A disappointment last year as a rookie third-round pick, Davis-Price had a better summer this time around and ultimately convinced the 49ers to keep four running backs. His position on the team is somewhat tenuous, as the Niners could swap him out for a player at another position if fellow running back Jordan Mason is quick to recover from a foot sprain. Either way, Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell figure to take nearly all the RB snaps Week 1 at Pittsburgh.

Coach Mike Tomlin recently told reporters that McFarland has "a distinguishing trait" and "won more in space than others" during training camp.

McFarland looked to be the No. 3 running back throughout preseason and ended up landing that job on the initial 53-man roster. His 4.44 speed may have stood out among a position group that otherwise lacked breakaway speed, but McFarland nonetheless figures to start the year with minimal involvement in the offense behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

Wright signed to the Ravens' practice squad Thursday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Wright put together a solid preseason with 107 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries while adding three catches for 15 yards. He signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of Monmouth and will continue to work his way towards an opportunity to move up to the team's active roster.

Clement was picked up by the Cardinals' practice squad Thursday, Howard Balzer of GoPHNX.com reports.

Clement was released by Arizona on Tuesday after failing to beat out Keaontay Ingram and Emari Demercado for a depth backfield spot behind James Conner. He finished the preseason strong with 84 yards on 16 touches in the preseason finale against the Vikings on Saturday. He appeared in nine games for the Cardinals last season, rushing for 55 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while adding five catches for 54 yards.