NFL Player News

Brightwell rushed four times for five yards and caught two of three targets for 31 yards in Thursday's Week 3 loss to San Francisco.

It was expected that Brightwell would see more snaps with Saquon Barkley out with an ankle injury, though Matt Breida saw the bulk of New York's backfield work. Brightwell ended up logging nine offensive snaps, making a minimal impact on the ground with a long gain of just two yards. He was more effective as a pass catcher, as his pair of receptions went for 18 and 13 yards, respectively. Breida will likely continue to see the majority of snaps at running back for as long as Barkley remains out, but Brightwell appears to be the clear second option while that remains the case -- rookie No. 3 back Eric Gray saw all of his work on special teams Thursday.

Haskins (undisclosed) was removed from the commissioner exempt list Friday, but he returned to injured reserve following the transaction, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

Haskins found himself on the commissioner exempt list Aug. 29 through Friday after charges were dropped Thursday following allegations of aggravated assault stemming from an arrest during the summer. Now that his legal situation has been settled, he'll remain on IR for the rest of the season unless the Titans opt to waive the 2022 fourth-round pick at some point.

Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters Friday that he still views Mattison as the Vikings' lead back after a recent trade for Cam Akers, who is unlikely to play this Sunday against the Chargers, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

O'Connell went as far as saying nothing has changed for Mattison despite his rough start to the season and now the addition of a 2020 second-round pick to Minnesota's backfield. In reality, Mattison is on the hot seat, though Akers won't necessarily provide the stiffest competition given his inconsistent tenure in Los Angeles. Akers finished his rookie year strong and had a nice four-week stretch to close out last season, but it's otherwise been a series of demotions and subpar performances ever since he tore his Achilles in the summer of 2021. O'Connell said Akers won't be ready to play for his new team this Sunday, giving Mattison at least one more game with only Ty Chandler taking away any backfield snaps.

Scott (concussion) was a limited participant in practice Friday.

Contrary to an earlier report, it seems that Scott has yet to clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol, though his limited practice Friday was a step in the right direction. Fellow running back Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) was a full participant Friday, leaving Scott as the likely No. 3 back (behind Gainwell and D'Andre Swift) if he's able to play Monday night in Tampa.

Dallas (illness) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Dallas was a new addition to the injury report Friday, and he won't have much time to get over this illness before the Panthers come to town Sunday. He has only four touches on offense behind Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet in the backfield through two games, but Dallas has also been operating as the team's top return man on special teams. Tre Brown and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are candidates to return kickoffs and punts, respectively, if Dallas' illness prevents him from suiting up Sunday.

Gainwell (ribs) was a full practice participant Friday ahead of Monday's game in Tampa Bay.

Gainwell handled 62 percent snap share and 18 touches in the season opener but now finds himself rejoining a backfield that had D'Andre Swift run for 175 yards in a Week 2 win over Minnesota. Given Swift's standout performance and Gainwell's pre-Week 1 lack of experience in a No. 1 role, it'll be surprising if Gainwell is the lead guy Monday night. If nothing else, Gainwell remains a strong candidate for playing time in obvious passing situations.

Hall (knee) logged a full practice Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Hall's limited participation Wednesday and Thursday was due to load management on his surgically repaired knee. After following the same practice pattern last week, Hall was listed as questionable against Dallas, but he avoided a designation this time around. Hall got just four carries against the Cowboys as the Jets abandoned the run after falling behind early, but New York's expected to lean on the ground game more heavily in this AFC East rivalry game.

Ahmed (groin) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's Week 3 game against the Broncos, David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Ahmed was forced to leave last Sunday night's game against the Patriots early with the injury. With Jeff Wilson (abdomen) still on injured reserve, it looks like exciting rookie De'Von Achane will have a chance to carve out a change-of-pace role behind locked-in lead back Raheem Mostert.

Pacheco (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bears, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports.

Pacheco turned in limited practices Thursday and Friday after missing Wednesday's practice, so his availability could come down to a true game-time decision. Even if he plays, Kansas City may choose to take a cautious approach with its top running back so as to not exacerbate the injury. If Pacheco gets his usual workload, though, he could be in store for a productive afternoon against an 0-2 Bears team that's giving up 32.5 points per game. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon could see more usage if Pacheco is limited or sits out entirely.

Kelley is in line to lead the Chargers backfield Sunday in Minnesota with Austin Ekeler (ankle) ruled out for the contest.

Kelley handled 54 of 68 offensive snaps (79 percent) in place of Ekeler this past Sunday at Tennessee, while reserves Elijah Dotson (13 percent) and Isaiah Spiller (six percent) didn't get much more than scraps. Still, Kelley didn't make much headway against a tough Titans defensive front, taking 13 carries for 39 yards and failing to reel in his only target. In the end, he should have an easier time this Sunday versus a Vikings defense that has given up the seventh-most YPC (4.8) to opposing running backs through two games this season.