NFL Player News

Hubbard (ankle) is listed as active Thursday against the Falcons, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

As a result, Hubbard will put an end to a two-game absence due to an ankle injury. Considering he was able to log back-to-back full practices to cap Week 10 prep, he's likely back to 100 percent, or close to it. However, the breakdown of snaps and touches between Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman remains to be seen. Foreman reeled off 100-yard rushing performances Weeks 7 and 8 before falling off to just 23 yards on seven carries this past Sunday in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Hubbard boasts 6.5 YPC on his 15 rushes this season, so he could be productive if given the chance Thursday.

Warren indicated Thursday that he hasn't had any increase in practice reps or responsibilities as Sunday's game against the Saints approaches, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

Per Dale Lolley of the Steelers' official site, there's been speculation that Warren -- who has averaged 5.3 yards on his 29 rushing attempts to date -- could see more backfield touches moving forward, but offensive coordinator Matt Canada suggested Thursday that he believes lead back Najee Harris, who has averaged 3.3 yards per carry on 108 rushes thus far, now is healthy and "will start trending in the right direction, as well." In any case, Warren figures to continue to contribute in third-down situations, a context that could result in the undrafted rookie seeing enough touches in the weeks ahead to make his mark in deeper leagues.

Hubbard (ankle) is expected to play Thursday against the Falcons, barring a pregame setback, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

After sitting out the Panthers' last two contests due to an ankle issue, Hubbard capped Week 10 prep with full practices Tuesday and Wednesday, only to be tabbed as questionable for Thursday's outing. His availability likely will be tied to a pregame workout, but assuming he gets through that unscathed, he'll rejoin D'Onta Foreman in the team's post-Christian McCaffrey backfield. On the campaign, Hubbard has averaged 6.5 YPC on his 15 rushes, hauled in three of four targets for 11 yards and scored one rushing touchdown in seven appearances.

Pierce (chest/shoulder) remained limited in practice Thursday.

So far, there's been nothing to suggest that Pierce's availability for Sunday's game against the Giants is in any danger, but the Texans' top running back likely will have to practice fully Friday in order to avoid a Week 10 injury designation. Pierce is coming off a Week 9 effort in a loss to the Eagles in which he was on the field for 47 of a possible 60 snaps on offense, while carrying 27 times for 139 yards.

Elliott (knee) practiced in a limited fashion Thursday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Elliott was tabbed with the same activity level one day prior, but this time around he was seen working on resistance bands (per Todd Archer of ESPN.com) and also running and cutting at full speed (according to Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Afterward, fellow running back Tony Pollard said he expects Elliott to suit up Sunday in Green Bay, but ultimately Friday's practice report may provide some clarity about his upcoming availability. If he's active this weekend, Elliott and Pollard could operate in more of a timeshare than normal, especially because the former told Jon Machota of The Athletic on Wednesday that his health in the long term "is definitely the priority."

Jackson (knee) didn't participate in Thursday's practice.

After serving as the Colts' lead back in last week's loss to the Patriots while Jonathan Taylor (ankle) missed his third game of the season, Jackson now appears to be the worst health among the two backs. Taylor returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant before upgrading to full activity Thursday, while Jackson didn't log any reps for the second day in a row. Jackson could still put himself in position to play Sunday in Las Vegas if he manages some practice activity Friday, but with Taylor poised to rejoin the lineup this weekend, Jackson would likely be in store only for a change-of-pace role.

Taylor (ankle) returned to a full practice Thursday.

After being limited Wednesday, Taylor logged a full session Thursday, which sets the stage for the running back to return to action Sunday against the Raiders after being inactive Week 9. With Nyheim Hines now with the Bills, who will handle backup RB duties this weekend remains up in the air, given that Deon Jackson (knee) has missed two straight practices. With that in mind, Zack Moss could make his debut with the Colts this weekend, while Jake Funk and Jordan Wilkins are potential practice squad elevations.

Jones (ankle) was a limited practice participant Thursday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

The Packers are taking it easy on Jones after he departed the team's Week 9 loss at Detroit in the second half due to a left ankle issue. On a positive note, he's been able to take part in back-to-back sessions, albeit with a cap on his reps, and has one more chance to get back to full before he potentially enters the weekend with a designation for Sunday's contest against the Cowboys. If Jones is limited Week 10, he could cede some RB reps to AJ Dillon and, to a lesser extent, Kylin Hill.

Swift (ankle/shoulder) practiced on a limited basis Thursday.

Swift continues to operate with a cap on his practice reps due to lingering ankle and shoulder injuries. He'll have one more opportunity Friday to get back to all activity, at which point the Lions may give him a designation ahead of Sunday's game at Chicago. On Monday, coach Dan Quinn relayed to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com that the Lions hope to give Swift "a little bit more" work in Week 10. Whether or not Swift will increase his snap share (16 percent) and touch count (five) from this past Sunday versus the Packers remains to be seen, but Jamaal Williams and Justin Jackson are available to Detroit's backfield as long as Swift isn't 100 percent.

Harris could be at risk of losing some snaps and/or touches out of the backfield to rookie Jaylen Warren, though offensive coordinator Matt Canada wouldn't commit to that materializing Week 10 against the Saints, Dale Lolley of the Steelers' official site reports. "I think when we're sitting here at 2-6, we're all searching and hunting for why that is," Canada said Thursday. "If you're a competitor, which Najee is, if you're a winner, which Najee is, you're a guy who wants to do all he can to help the team win, which he is, you're going to ultimately look at yourself and say, 'What can I do better?...He's a tremendous talent. Nobody's numbers are what [they would like to be.] Nobody's happy with where we are. But we're going to continue to keep going. He'll start trending in the right direction, as well."

Canada's comments don't shed much light on how the Pittsburgh backfield will shake out in the weeks to come, but the confidence he expressed in Harris suggests that the 2021 first-round pick will continue to start in Sunday's game against the Saints even after head coach Mike Tomlin hinted Tuesday that Warren's profile on offense could expand over the back half of the Steelers' schedule. For his part, Warren told Chris Adamski of TribLive.com that he hasn't seen any increase in his rep counts during practice this week, so fantasy managers that have continued to deploy Harris in lineups amid his disappointing season have at least some reason to hope that he'll remain the preferred option in the backfield. While struggling through a Lisfranc injury in training camp and playing much of the first half of the season with a steel plate in his foot, Harris has yet to miss a game but is averaging a lowly 3.3 yards per carry on 108 totes and has found the end zone just three times. The foot injury and poor offensive line play have played a part in Harris' demise, but he's also seen his value take a hit due to a huge drop in targets. After averaging 5.5 targets per game as a rookie as one of Ben Roethlisberger's favorite check-down options, Harris is down to 3.5 per game in 2022 with either Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett taking the snaps at quarterback.