NFL Player News

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.

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.