NFL Player News

Smith was waived by the Seahawks on Thursday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

Smith signed with Seattle on May 13 as an undrafted free agent after a four-year collegiate career at Louisiana-Lafayette, but he will now look for another opportunity elsewhere. The running back not only handled backfield duties with the Ragin' Cajuns, but he also operated as a kick returner, compiling 1,409 yards and two scores on 60 returns over his last three seasons. Due to Smith's dynamic skill set, he has a chance to find another squad in the near future.

Pollard (ankle) said Thursday he's ahead of schedule in his recovery and plans to be ready for the start of training camp, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The 26-year-old was participating in reduced-tempo OTA practices last week and appears to be progressing well in his recovery after he underwent tightrope surgery on a high-ankle sprain and broken fibula in his left leg back in January. According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, Pollard also said he's "not really limited at this point," and the tailback is poised to lead Dallas' backfield in 2023 following the release of Ezekiel Elliott, who remains a free agent.

Hagans was waived by the Colts on Thursday, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Hagans signed with Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent May 5, but he will now be looking for a new opportunity. The running back rushed for 1,012 yards with Virginia State last season and will likely find another suitor in the near future. The transaction opened a roster spot for defensive lineman Genard Avery.

Coach Dan Campbell said Thursday that Montgomery (undisclosed) won't practice but isn't dealing with anything serious, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Montgomery departed from OTAs last week due to an undisclosed injury, and while a timetable for his return remains uncertain it doesn't look like the Lions are overly concerned. Heading into his age-26 season, Montgomery looks poised to handle a key role as a rusher for Detroit, though rookie first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs should also see a fair share of carries while potentially commanding most of the backfield receiving work.

The Broncos waived Patrick on Wednesday, Mike Klis of 9News Denver reports.

Patrick signed with the Broncos in mid-May, but despite practicing well, he'll cede his spot on the offseason roster to tight end Tommy Hudson. Since going undrafted out of Florida State in 2019, Patrick has spent time with the Broncos, Bengals, 49ers, Panthers and Ravens, but his most recent professional action came in the XFL this spring. He totaled 115 carries for 443 yards during his time with the San Antonio Brahmas.

The Saints signed Bargas on Wednesday, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Bargas joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and appeared in two games across two seasons, registering 12 total snaps. The 26-year-old fullback joined the Bears last August after being let go by Minnesota but didn't last long and spent the entire 2022 campaign as a free agent.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday that he's "very optimistic" about the chances of Hall (knee) being on the field Week 1, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

Saleh affirmed that Hall's rehab from a left ACL tear is continuing on track, per Eric Allen of the Jets' official site, noting that the running looks powerful and has already hit over 22 miles per hour via GPS monitor. Though Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports that Hall isn't expected to be ready for the start of training camp, the 2022 second-round pick could still be available for the beginning of the regular season as long as he can avoid any setbacks. Of course, Hall might be eased into action even if he avoids missing any games. In that case, Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight and Israel Abanikanda could all see increased opportunities out of the backfield.

Brightwell and rookie Eric Gray figure to compete for the No. 3 running back role behind Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida, Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic reports.

Barkley has yet to sign his franchise tag or work out a contract extension with the organization, but he figures to be a workhorse again during the upcoming campaign. Breida was a good fit as the No. 2 ball-carrier last season and was brought back for 2023 presumably to fill the same role, leaving Brightwell and Gray to compete for the limited snaps that remain. Brightwell averaged a healthy 4.5 yards per carry last year and also worked as the team's lead kickoff returner, but Carroll notes that Gray offers "a needed injection of youth" to the running-back room. Should the rookie impress during camp and preseason action, he could feasibly move ahead of Brightwell on the depth chart.

Montgomery left Thursday's practice early due to injury, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Montgomery walked off the field and back to the locker room during Detroit's first open practice of the spring. There's no contact work at this point, so it's likely a muscular injury for Montgomery, who played 60 of a possible 66 games in four seasons with the Bears while topping 200 carries each year. He could see similar rushing workloads in Detroit, but it'll be tougher to get involved as a pass catcher after the Lions used the 12th overall pick on Jahmyr Gibbs, a 199-pound RB with 4.36 speed coming off three straight seasons at Alabama with at least 303 receiving yards and multiple scores. Behind the obvious top two, Detroit's backfield holds Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson, 2022 UDFA Greg Bell and 2023 UDFA Mohamed Ibrahim.

Williams (knee) was a limited participant in Thursday's OTA practice, Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette reports.

There's no contact at this early stage of the offseason, and Williams presumably will be sitting out once there is. Still, this shows he's making progress in his rehab from ACL and LCL tears suffered Week 4 last year. GM George Paton hinted in March (and again in April) that he wasn't sure about Williams' Week 1 availability, and while that may still be the case, new coach Sean Payton says the Broncos are encouraged by the RB's early progress. Offseason addition Samaje Perine is the obvious candidate to get more work if Williams isn't ready come September, but it looks like open competition otherwise with the Broncos rostering a slew of RBs that have been released by other teams, including Tony Jones, Jacques Patrick and Tyler Badie.