NFL Player News

Coach Dan Campbell envisions a "two-headed monster" in the backfield with Gibbs and David Montgomery, ESPN.com's Eric Woodyard reports.

Campbell is merely confirming what was made obvious by Detroit's offseason moves. The Lions let Jamaal Williams walk and later traded D'Andre Swift, but only after signing Montgomery to a three-year, $18 million contract ($8.75 million guaranteed) and drafting Gibbs at No. 12 overall. While Montgomery is a capable pass catcher in his own right, Campbell said he views Gibbs as the guy who "carries the scalpel" and "can hurt you in the pass game." The Lions head coach also mentioned his previous experience on teams that utilized two running backs, including the Giants with Ron Dayne / Tiki Barber and the Saints with Mark Ingram / Alvin Kamara. The latter is a reasonable comparison for Montgomery/Gibbs, though presumably in an offense with less cumulative production up for grabs given that Jared Goff is no Drew Brees. Then again, Williams and Swift combined for over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 25 TDs last year, and that was with Swift missing three games and third-stringer Justin Jackson adding 281 total yards and two TDs of his own. Montgomery and Gibbs are probably a better real-life duo than Williams/Swift, with the rookie being the upside play for fantasy thanks to his combination of speed, receiving skills and draft capital.

Mitchell suffered an adductor strain and is expected to be out for about a week, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mitchell had enjoyed a healthy spring and summer up until Wednesday/Thursday, after missing more regular-season games (18) than he played (16) through his first two professional seasons. The estimate coach Kyle Shanahan provided Thursday suggests Mitchell should resume practicing long before Week 1, with Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price candidates to see more work with the first- and second-team offenses in the meantime.

Swift has made the strongest impression of any Eagles running back in training camp, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.com.

Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sports Radio 94 WIP Philadelphia apparently agrees, saying Thursday, "I think Swift is def[initely] RB1" for the Eagles. Other reports have Swift highly active as a pass catcher in training camp, though he's unlikely to be any more than the fourth option in an offense with WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert. A healthy, busy camp is a great sign for Swift, who nonetheless will need to fend off snap competition from Rashaad Penny, at the very least, and possibly from Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and/or Trey Sermon as well.

Coach Sean Payton noted Thursday that Williams (knee) will play some snaps during the preseason, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

The report notes that the Broncos may wait until the team's second exhibition game to get Williams in action, but either way, the mere fact that the running back has already progressed to this point is a major step in his recovery from a knee injury that ended his 2022 season in Week 4. Assuming Williams does in fact log preseason snaps as planned, he'd be on track to be available for Denver's regular-season opener, barring any setbacks. In such a scenario, should the team elect to ease the 2021 second-rounder back into the mix out of the gate, Samaje Perine is available to serve as another capable backfield option.

Jaguars running back coach Bernie Parmalee indicates that he's seen improvements from Etienne as the 2023 season approaches, Alessandra Pontbriand of news4jax.com reports. "Really his all-around game (has improved)," Parmalee noted Wednesday of the 2021 first-rounder. "His reads, which he has done a phenomenal job this year. Pass (protection), he has really taken that to a new level."

After missing his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury, Etienne played in all 17 regular-season games in 2022 en route to logging 220 carries for 1,125 yards and five TDs to go along with 35 catches (on 45 targets) for 316 yards. This coming season, the 24-year-old remains entrenched atop a Jacksonville RB depth chart that also includes rookie third-rounder Tank Bigsby, JaMycal Hasty, D'Ernest Johnson and Snoop Conner. In that context, an uptick in production from Etienne in his third year as a pro is plausible, considering his big-play potential in the team's Trevor Lawrence-helmed offense.

Williams was diagnosed Thursday with a mild right ankle sprain and is expectd to miss a couple of weeks, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Williams, who entered training camp in contention for the top backup role behind starting back Joe Mixon, thus is in line to miss the Bengals' preseason opener, at a minimum. In his looming absence, added backfield reps will be available for Chase Brown and Chris Evans.

Dowdle is in the mix to win the top backup job behind Tony Pollard in the Cowboys' backfield, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The 25-year-old has just seven NFL carries since being signed as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 2020, as injuries have disrupted his career so far, but Dowdle is drawing high marks in training camp for his football IQ and blocking ability. His value as a special-teams player could secure him a spot on the 53-man roster regardless of how much usage he sees on offense, but with Ronald Jones (suspension) set to miss the first two games of the regular season, the door is open for Dowdle to push Malik Davis for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.

Coach Shane Steichen told reporters Thursday that he has no update on Taylor, who officially remains on the active/PUP list due to an ankle issue, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

An ongoing contract dispute and recent trade request have led to speculation that Taylor is healthy enough to practice, though Steichen suggested Monday that the running back hasn't actually been cleared by the medical staff. Taylor hasn't said much publicly, other than denying a report from Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis that said the 24-year-old suffered a back injury while working out on his own and thus might be placed on the non-football injury list. It's a complicated situation with no clear solution in sight, and it's certainly possible a slower-than-hoped-for recovery from offseason ankle surgery remains a factor in Taylor's absence. The running back was present for Thursday's practice, watching from the sideline as he has for the past week-plus.

Offensive coordinator Dave Canales expects White to be "fantastic" and recently told reporters the running back is "so natural" and has a well-rounded skillset, Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com reports.

It's an optimistic outlook given that White's rookie season was a mixed bag, in which he played all 17 games (eight starts) and caught 50 of 58 targets (86.2 percent) but averaged only 5.8 yards per reception and 3.7 yards per carry (129/481/1 rushing line). On the other hand, Canales seemingly isn't the only one in the organization with this level of optimism, considering the Bucs didn't draft a running back and brought in only Chase Edmonds and Patrick Laird as veteran additions. Both are more likely to get snaps on late downs than early downs, if they even make the team and earn roles, while the competition for carries may come from 2020 third-round pick Ke'Shawn Vaughn and undrafted rookie Sean Tucker. It sets up White for a wide range of outcomes, as he still has a lot to prove but could end up operating as a three-down workhorse if the Bucs like what they see throughout summer and into the season. Few teams, if any, look weaker in the backfield on paper right now, though the Bucs seem cautiously optimistic White alone can change that.

Chubb and fellow running back Jerome Ford aren't expected to receive many, if any snaps in Thursday's preseason opener against the Jets, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.

The Browns have little reason to expose Chubb or any of their other top skill players to contact in the exhibition opener, so expect the lead back to be a spectator Thursday. In that scenario, look for Demetric Felton, John Kelly, Nate McCrary and Hassan Hall to handle most of the backfield touches versus the Jets and make their case for depth slotting. Assuming he can stay healthy, Chubb has a clear path to a heavy workload for Cleveland out of the gate once the regular season starts.