NFL Player News

Jones (knee/ankle) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against Detroit, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Jones has dealt with lower-body injuries throughout the second half of the season, but he's mostly played well all the same and still gets a few more snaps than AJ Dillon most weeks. Dillon's recent dominance of goal-line work has taken a chunk out of Jones' fantasy value, but it's possible the latter gets more work Sunday, and then maybe more in the playoffs if the Packers are able to punch their ticket with a win over Detroit.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Ingram and Corey Clement will be in store for increased roles in Sunday's game against the 49ers with top back James Conner (shin/knee) ruled out for the contest, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

While Conner was sidelined for the entire fourth quarter of last week's win over the Falcons, Clement played 94 percent of the Cardinals' offensive snaps and carried five times for 25 yards in the final 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Ingram didn't garner any snaps on offense at any point during the contest, which suggests Clement may be the better bet of the two backs to pick up the Week 18 start and absorb most of Conner's snaps and touches. That being said, the Cardinals have more recent draft capital invested in Ingram, a sixth-round rookie, while the 28-year-old Clement has bounced around the league the past few seasons and profiles as more of a special-teams player at this stage of his career. With that in mind, it wouldn't be a complete surprise if Ingram carved out a larger role Sunday than expected, despite how he and Clement were deployed a week ago.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Clement and Keaontay Ingram will be in store for increased roles in Sunday's game against the 49ers with top back James Conner (shin/knee) ruled out for the contest, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Before exiting in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to the Falcons, Conner had been handling massive snap shares in each of the Cardinals' previous seven games. His early departure in Week 17 paved the way for Clement -- who has mostly contributed on special teams this season -- to play 29 snaps on offense en route to carrying seven times for 32 yards while going without a reception on his lone target. Ingram, meanwhile, didn't play any snaps on offense, so Clement appears to be the better bet to see the larger share of Conner's vacated workload in the season finale. That said, the Cardinals have some recent draft capital invested in Ingram -- a rookie sixth-round pick -- so it wouldn't be entirely surprising if he was prioritized over the journeyman Clement.

Conner (shin/knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.

The Cardinals are left with Corey Clement and Keaontay Ingram in the backfield, after mostly using Clement last week when Conner made his early exit from a 20-19 loss to Denver. The Cardinals haven't indicated that Conner's injury is one that might require offseason surgery, and there's a good chance the 27-year-old is back with the Cardinals in 2023 given that his $5.75 million base salary is fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap.com. A $2 million roster bonus due in mid-March is one potential complicating factor, along with the possibility of the Cardinals bringing in a new coaching staff.

Foreman was added to the practice report Friday as a limited participant with a knee injury and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against New Orleans.

An end-of-week addition to the injury report puts Foreman's availability into question for the season finale. If he's deemed inactive ahead of the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, Carolina will rely on Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear out of the backfield. Interim head coach Steve Wilks said Friday that he expects Foreman to be a game-time decision, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.

Williams is expected to serve as the Commanders' starting running back Sunday against the Cowboys with Brian Robinson (knee) ruled out for the season finale and with Antonio Gibson (foot/knee) having been placed on injured reserve earlier this week, Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington reports.

J.D. McKissic (neck) has also been sidelined since early November and won't be activated from IR for Week 18, so the Commanders will close the season without any of their top three running backs entering the campaign. While Gibson was sidelined for last week's loss to Cleveland, Williams saw a healthy amount of work behind Robinson, carrying nine times for 30 yards while reeling in three of five targets for three yards across 31 snaps. His ability to contribute on three downs makes Williams a more appealing fantasy target than Jaret Patterson, who was elevated from the practice squad Thursday and should also have a role in the finale, but more likely as a runner than as a weapon in the passing game. Washington could also bring up Reggie Bonnafon from the practice squad to provide additional depth behind Williams and Patterson.

Gibson (knee) underwent surgery Thursday to address a fracture in his foot, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Gibson played through the fracture for most of December but then missed the final two games of the regular season after spraining his knee Week 16. He's expected to recover in time for offseason workouts, at which point he'll be in the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. Rookie back Brian Robinson, meanwhile, will miss Week 18 with a knee injury that isn't considered especially serious. Jonathan Williams and Jaret Patterson are Washington's healthy backs for the season finale, while Robinson and Gibson should be ready to go for OTAs.

Robinson (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Dallas, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

Antonio Gibson (knee) missed Week 17 and was then placed on injured reserve Thursday, leaving the Commanders with Jonathan Williams and Jaret Patterson as the team's healthy running backs for the season finale. Williams had been the No. 3 option since late November, but that might be more for special-teams reasons and doesn't ensure he'll get more touches than Patterson on Sunday. Robinson, a third-round pick, wraps up his rookie year as the team's leading rusher with 205 carries for 797 yards, though he caught only nine passes in 12 games and found the end zone just three times (including once on a reception). While the Commanders could upgrade the position group this offseason, it won't necessarily be one of their priorities with the running-back room in decent hands between Robinson and Gibson.

Dallas (ankle) didn't practice Thursday, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

For a second session in a row, Dallas was absent, which also can be said for backfield mates Kenneth Walker (ankle/illness) and Travis Homer (ankle). As such, the Seahawks backfield has question marks with one practice to go this week, some of which may clear up upon the release of Friday's injury report. If Walker continues to be the team's lead runner Sunday versus the Rams, he'll take on most of the RB reps, but Dallas has been able to make an impact over the last two contests, notching 18 touches for 140 yards from scrimmage.

Homer (ankle) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

Homer is seeking to end his DNP streak at one game, but a sprained ankle hasn't allowed him to practice since Week 16 prep. Fellow running backs Kenneth Walker (ankle/illness) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle) also didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday, so the state of the position group remains up in the air in the midst of Week 18 prep. If Walker is able to play Sunday against the Rams, he likely would be the Seahawks' primary backfield option, which would leave some snaps and touches for whoever among Homer and Dallas are available. In the end, Homer's status could receive some clarity, one way or another, upon the release of Friday's injury report.