NFL Player News

Head coach Arthur Smith said Wednesday that Williams has suffered an ACL injury and is expected to miss the 2023 campaign, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Williams is expected to be sent in for knee surgery in the coming days, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Williams averaged 5.0 yards and scored a touchdown on 22 carries and added 13 receptions for 61 yards, but his main contributions for Atlanta in 2022 came in the return game.

The Rams waived Evans on Tuesday.

Evans will head to waivers despite having just signed with Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent back in May. The 21-year-old will look to catch on with another team after recording 83 carries for 525 yards and six touchdowns at Louisville last season.

McBride (hamstring) signed a four-year contract with the Vikings on Tuesday, Craig Peters of the team's official site reports.

Alec Lewis of The Athletic notes that the 2022 seventh-round pick, who wasn't able to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine or at UAB's pro day due to a hamstring injury, was spotted at Tuesday practice. Now that he's presumably past the health concern, McBride will look to cement a depth role in a Minnesota backfield that currently includes Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu. That said, Cook's future with the team is unclear and if the Vikings part ways with him, McBride's chances of landing a Week 1 roster spot would improve.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Edwards (undisclosed) will be "partially ready" for mandatory minicamp next week and will be "fully ready" for training camp at the end of July, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Harbaugh added that Edwards hasn't suffered any setbacks, but the medical staff is being cautious. The running back dealt with knee and hamstring injuries during the 2022 campaign, limiting him to just nine appearances, but it's unclear if his current issue is related to either of those injuries. Either way, it sounds like Edwards should be good to go for the start of the 2023 campaign, barring a setback.

Jacobs hasn't signed his franchise tender and is ineligible for mandatory minicamp, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels didn't appear to be too concerned with the situation, saying he respects the process and is looking forward to seeing Jacobs in July when the deadline to sign the franchise tag expires. After battling a number of minor injuries through his first three NFL seasons, the 2019 first-round pick won the league's rushing crown in 2022, totaling career highs in rushing attempts (340), rushing yards (1,653) and receiving yards (400).

The Steelers signed Hagans on Monday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.

Hagans signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in May, but he was let go at the start of June and has quickly found a new home. The 23-year-old running back rushed for 1,012 yards for Virginia State in 2022.

Commanders coaches have been surprisingly pleased with Rodriguez's receiving skills at OTAs, Zach Selby of the team's official website reports.

Rodriguez comes in as a sixth-round pick after a college career at Kentucky in which he had more rushing touchdowns (33) than receptions (20). The 219-pounder is more of a threat to take the type of snaps/touches Brian Robinson got last year than those that went to Antonio Gibson, but at this early stage of the offseason it isn't clear if Rodriguez is a serious threat to have a role on offense at all early in the season. He's reportedly been working hard on special teams, which will be an especially important factor for making the Week 1 roster if the Commanders roll with only three running backs. Jaret Patterson and Jonathan Williams are the other RBs competing for roles behind Gibson/Robinson.

Williams opened the offseason program working as Washington's No. 3 running back, Zach Selby of the team's official site reports.

Williams has a real shot to keep the role heading into Week 1, but it wouldn't necessarily make him third in line for touches on offense. He's an experienced special teamer, which means the 29-year-old might technically be active over fellow RBs Chris Rodriguez and Jaret Patterson on gamedays even if one or both of the young backs is ahead of Williams in the pecking order for carries. All are behind Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson, the returning top two in a Washington backfield that could be reevaluated under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Cook (shoulder) is unlikely to be on the Vikings roster by the start of the new campaign, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

Typically situations like this aren't discussed with such absolute language, so Seifert suggesting "all that remains is for the Vikings to formalize Cook's exit, a denouement that seems likely if not completely certain" is worth noting. Cook has a cap hit of nearly $14 million for 2023, and the Vikings already traded productive pass rusher Za'Darius Smith, who had a similar cap figure. The soon-to-be 28-year-old back has been the subject of trade rumors for months, although given no such trade has materialized it's unclear how many teams remain interested. The Vikings re-signed long-time backup Alexander Mattison to a two-year, $6.5 million deal this offseason, and the fifth-year pro figures to step in as the starter if Cook is traded or released.

Taylor (ankle) isn't participating at Friday's practice, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old relayed in April that the arthroscopic debridement surgery he underwent on his right ankle in January was a "perfect success," but he's apparently not yet ready to practice. Taylor missed the final three games of the season due to the ankle injury, and the Colts are likely to remain cautious with his offseason work. He's expected to be fully healthy for the start of training camp.