NFL Player News

Patterson (knee) will be activated off injured reserve Saturday and is set to play against the Chargers on Sunday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

Patterson practiced all week, setting the stage for the multi-faceted back to make his return after the minimum four games. The Chargers allow a league-high 5.7 yards per carry through nine games, which should set the stage for the veteran to make a dominant return. Expect the Falcons to still incorporate Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley into the mix somewhat. Patterson averaged about 60 percent of the offensive snaps prior to the Week 4 injury.

Williams (ankle) was not activated off injured reserve Saturday and thus will not play in Week 9.

There was some optimism the 2022 fifth-round pick would make his season debut Sunday, but that will have to wait another week, as the Rams opted not to activate the rookie Saturday. In his stead, a combination of Ronnie Rivers, Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown and possibly even Cam Akers could shoulder a backfield load that has yielded very little results as of late. The Rams still have a little over two weeks left on the 21-day window to activate Williams before he's placed back on injured reserve for the remainder of the year.

Rivers was elevated from the Rams' practice squad Saturday.

Perhaps more crucially, rookie running back Kyren Williams (ankle) was not activated off injured reserve, meaning Rivers and Darrell Henderson are expected to operate as the top options out of the backfield come Sunday. Head coach Sean McVay didn't rule out the possibility of Cam Akers making his return after a two-game absence due to personal reasons, but even if Akers were to be active, it seems entirely possible the combo of Rivers and Henderson will continue to operate at the top of the depth chart given the former's public spats with the team. Rivers carried the ball eight times for 21 yards and operated as the backfield's top pass catcher (4-15) in last week's loss to the 49ers.

Robinson (knee) was added to Saturday's injury report and is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the Bills, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

Robinson saw just five carries in his Jets debut last week, but that could easily be attributed to a surprisingly pass-heavy game script. A combination of Ty Johnson and Zonovan Knight likely would take over the between-the-tackle carries with Michael Carter operating the larger share of the backfield committee if the former Jaguars running back were to be sidelined. Expect more information on Robinson's status ahead of Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.

General manager Brandon Beane stated that Hines, acquired by the Bills at the trade deadline earlier this week, is expected to work in the punt return game Sunday against the Jets, Chris Brown of the Bills official site reports.

It would have been nice if Beane spelled out what Hines is going to do in the actual offense, but for now we have to assume he's a co-No. 2 with rookie James Cook, with each player offering something valuable but not enough to hog up the playing time. Hines has more pass-catching experience than Cook or starter Devin Singletary, though neither of Hines' new teammates is a slouch in that area either. The Bills have made a few references to Hines needing to get up to speed with the playbook, so the most likely scenario Week 9 seems to be him having a key special teams role with a sprinkle of plays in the offense. He's a risky fantasy start until we see how things go for the next couple of games.

Moss is a candidate to fill in for Jonathan Taylor in the Colts backfield Sunday at New England, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Moss was among the compensation in the Nyheim Hines trade to the Bills, but with a short turnaround to prepare with a new squad there's a chance the former won't be active this weekend. "We're trying to ramp him up as fast as we can," coach Frank Reich said of Moss on Friday. "If we feel like he can be ready, then he'll be up. If we feel like he can't, then we might have to consider moving up Jordan Wilkins." No matter who gets the call between Moss or Wilkins, Deon Jackson is poised to be Indy's lead runner Sunday, while Phillip Lindsay likely will be elevated from the practice squad to serve as the No. 2 back.

Conner (ribs), a likely game-time decision, is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Seattle, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

The designation was inevitable once coach Kliff Kingsbury said Friday that he considers Conner a game-time call ahead of a 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff with their NFC West avian rivals. It's a sign of progress after Conner was ruled out on the final injury report last week, his third consecutive absence since hurting his ribs in a Week 5 loss to the Eagles. With Darrel Williams (hip) on injured reserve, the Cardinals will rely on Keaontay Ingram as the backup to Eno Benjamin if Conner misses a fourth straight game this Sunday.

Strong (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Colts, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

A hamstring issue limited Strong at practice this week, with his status of added import in terms of the Patriots' backfield depth Week 9, given that Damien Harris (illness) also is listed as questionable for the contest. If Harris ends up being unable to play this weekend while Strong is available, the rookie fourth-rounder still would be a speculative fantasy option, however, with Rhamondre Stevenson capable of absorbing the bulk of the RB touches in the event of a Harris absence.

Harris (illness) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Colts after being deemed a limited practice participant Friday, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.

Previous reports relayed that Harris wasn't initially spotted at practice Friday, but evidently the running back was able to get some work in after all, thus giving him a chance to suit up this weekend. If, however, Harris ends up not being available for Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff, Rhamondre Stevenson would be in line for an increased workload Week 9.

Foreman is in line to lead the Panthers backfield Sunday at Cincinnati with Chuba Hubbard (ankle) missing a second game in a row.

With Christian McCaffrey out of the picture the last two contests, Foreman has helped pick up the slack on the ground, which has been aided by Hubbard missing a good portion of Week 7 and all of Week 8. During that stretch, Foreman has racked up 41 carries for 236 yards and three touchdowns to go with two catches (on three targets) for 27 yards. While he'll continue to get the bulk of the RB touches this weekend, Foreman may yield the occasional rep to Raheem Blackshear and potentially practice squad member Spencer Brown.