NFL Player News

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.

Pollard (ankle) has been participating in reduced-tempo OTA practices, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Pollard signed a franchise tag March 23, two months after having tightrope surgery on a high-ankle sprain in his left leg. He also broke the fibula, but it's still an easier rehab than something like an ACL or Achilles tear. While he may have some limitations as the offseason progresses and practices become more intense, Pollard is well on his way to starting Week 1 in a Dallas backfield without Ezekiel Elliott (still a free agent as of late May).

Jacobs hasn't signed his franchise tender and remains ineligible for OTA practices, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reports.

Jacobs presumably wants a long-term contract before the July 17 deadline and hasn't commented on what he'll do if that doesn't happen. He's coming off the best season of his career and is the leader of an otherwise thin backfield, with Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden the best bets to take first-team snaps while Jacobs is absent.

Ford was the first running back in full team drills Wednesday, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.

Top back Nick Chubb was notably absent from the voluntary OTA program, so Ford moved into the lead role for the practice. He impressed decision-makers as a rookie and appears headed for a larger role behind Chubb in 2023.

Mitchell (groin) participated in the 49ers' first open practice of OTAs on Tuesday, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Mitchell dealt with injuries to both of his knees in addition to a late-season groin injury in 2022, so it was a positive sign to see him take part in the early stages of OTAs, with Chan noting that the running back "ran with power, taking reps from the backfield and as a pass catcher." The 25-year-old was still productive last season despite being limited physically, averaging 6.2 yards per carry while spelling starter Christian McCaffrey. With both backs looking healthy early in camp, San Francisco should begin the 2023 campaign with one of the top rushing duos in the league, assuming Mitchell can stay on the field.

Robinson (knee) is participating in OTAs without any apparent limitations, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Robinson missed Week 18 of his rookie season with a knee injury, but it may not have had any impact on his offseason plan given that the team never reported that the required surgery. The 2022 third-round pick had an eventful debut campaign, missing the first four games after he was the victim of a shooting before he returned to average 17.1 carries for 66.6 yards (3.9 YPC) over the next 12 games. He caught only nine passes and scored only three times, but Robinson and Antonio Gibson could be headed for similar-sized roles under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, whose backfield at the start of OTAs consists of four holdovers from the 2022 Commanders (Robinson, Gibson, Jaret Patterson, Jonathan Williams) in addition to rookie sixth-round pick Chris Rodriguez.

Gibson (knee/foot) was spotted practicing Wednesday, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Gibson played through a foot fracture last December but then missed the final two weeks of the season after spraining his knee. He had surgery on his foot in the first week of January and seems to be back healthy for spring practices. The Commanders didn't add competition for Gibson's passing-down role this offseason, as the lone new face in the backfield at the start of OTAs is a sixth-round pick, Chris Rodriguez, who caught 20 passes in 40 games at Kentucky. Brian Robinson may get another shot as the lead runner, but Gibson is also a candidate for that role if anything goes wrong, having averaged 214 carries for 916 yards and nine touchdowns over his first two pro seasons. The 2020 third-round pick then had career highs for targets, catches, receiving yards and yards per target in 2022, but it was accompanied by new lows for carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards per carry.

Pierce (ankle) is practicing Tuesday, Deepi Sidhu of the Texans' official site reports.

Pierce was running routes at full speed and caught a pass from rookie QB C.J. Stroud at Houston's first OTA practice. The 2022 fourth-round pick gained only 165 yards from his 30 receptions last year, but he was eighth in the league with 72.2 rushing yards per game and started each of his 13 appearances before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Pierce suggested in January that he could've suited up Week 18 if the Texans had more to play for, so it seems he enjoyed a healthy, normal offseason without significant training limitations. He does have more competition for playing time this year after the Texans signed Devin Singletary, who produced between 956 and 1,099 scrimmage yards in each of his four seasons with Buffalo.

Hall (knee) isn't practicing Tuesday at OTAs, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

As expected, with Hall rehabbing an ACL tear suffered in October, the Jets are not pushing the running back during the offseason program. He also damaged his meniscus, but that issue wasn't considered serious and likely won't complicate his recovery. The Jets seem optimistic about having the 2022 second-round pick available for Week 1, with coach Robert Saleh telling reporters in April that Hall looked "fantastic". If it doesn't work out that way and he ends up missing games in September, the Jets can turn to Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight and Israel Abanikanda in the backfield.

Ekeler is expected to remain with the Chargers for 2023 after they added $1.75 million in incentives for the final season of his contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Ekeler requested a trade earlier this offseason, and while a minor adjustment to his current contract isn't exactly what he wanted, it'll apparently be enough to keep him in Los Angeles for one more year without a holdout. The 28-year-old led the NFL in touchdowns each of the past two seasons, scoring 38 times in 33 games while averaging 96.8 scrimmage yards. Ekeler figures to be busy again this season given the questionable backfield depth behind him, though Justin Herbert is expected to push the ball downfield more with the help of new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and rookie first-round wideout Quentin Johnston.