NFL Player News

McCrary (knee) netted minus-3 yards on two carries in Baltimore's preseason game Saturday.

McCrary appears to be healthy after leaving the Ravens' previous preseason outing against the Cardinals with a knee injury. However, the undrafted back ultimately saw action on just one drive Saturday, with his second rushing attempt stopped behind the line of scrimmage for a four-yard loss. McCrary's mere 14 offensive snaps don't spell well for his chances to make Baltimore's 53-man roster heading into final cuts Tuesday.

As Week 1 approaches, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle notes that coach Lovie Smith declined Monday to name a starting running back in a Texans backfield that includes Pierce, Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead.

When asked whether Pierce, who has been impressive during the preseason, had done enough to earn the team's starting job, Smith elected not to provide clarity on that front, quite possibly to keep early-season opponents guessing. "Dameon Pierce has played good ball pretty much since he got in the facility," Smith said. "He's a good football player, right amount of power. He'll make you miss in the open field. He can catch the ball. He can do a lot of things that NFL running backs do." Despite Smith's reluctance at this time to share his team's backfield plans, things appear to be trending in Pierce's favor, with DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com suggesting even in the context of a potential committee approach, he'd expect Pierce to get the most touches. With that in mind, the 2022 fourth-rounder out of Florida remains the upside play in fantasy over Mack and Burkhead, a notion that is clearly reflected in his current ADP.

Coach Ron Rivera indicated Monday that there is currently no timeline for Robinson's recovery from gunshot wounds that he sustained Sunday, but he noted that the running back is "doing well" at this stage.

Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site relays that law enforcement reports indicate that Robinson was shot in the leg and glute during an attempted robbery Sunday evening in Washington D.C. Since then, the 2022 third-rounder posted a message on his Instagram account, announcing that his surgery went well. Per John Keim of ESPN.com, a determination on whether to place Robinson on the non-football injury list is expected after the team talks to doctors later Monday. If that occurs, the running back would miss at least the first four games of the upcoming season.

The Jets waived Perine on Monday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports.

The addition of Breece Hall this offseason pushed all the Jets' returning running backs one spot down the depth chart, so Perine was always a long shot to make the team's initial 53-man roster. The 2020 fourth-round pick totaled 75 touches for 295 yards and two scores as a rookie but appeared in just four games last year.

Akers (undisclosed) practiced fully Monday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

The same applies to Darrell Henderson (undisclosed), which sets the stage for the Rams' top two backs to be available for Week 1 action against the Bills. At that time, Akers is in line to lead the team's ground game out of the gate this coming season, with Henderson available for his share of complementary/change-of-pace touches, while Kyren Williams and Jake Funk are on hand in reserve.

The Dolphins waived White on Monday.

White signed with Miami in May as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina, where he totaled 107 touches for 785 yards and five scores. However, he finds himself among the first wave of cuts ahead of Tuesday's 53-man roster deadline.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday that he doesn't know if Dobbins (knee) will be ready for Week 1 against the Jets.

Harbaugh made similar comments a week and a half ago and hasn't said much else about the running back since he was removed from the PUP list Aug. 8. Dobbins has increased his activity level over the past three weeks but still needs to be cleared for contact before the Ravens can truly evaluate his readiness in practice. With Gus Edwards (ACL) ruled out for the first four weeks already, there's an opportunity for Mike Davis and Justice Hill to be involved in the Baltimore offense early in the season.

Harris, who made his preseason debut Sunday against the Lions, indicated that he was previously dealing with a Lisfranc sprain in his foot, dating back to the first day of training camp, Eric Edholm of NFL.com reports.

That said, Harris drew the start at running back for the Steelers in their preseason finale on Sunday, en route to logging 28 snaps on offense, while carrying four times for 10 yards and catching all three of his targets for 11 yards. With no reported setbacks in the contest, Harris remains on track to lead Pittsburgh's backfield in the season opener against the Bengals. Currently in the mix to log complementary RB snaps behind Harris -- the team's clear-cut top option at the position -- are Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland and Jaylen Warren.

Sanders (hamstring) isn't practicing Monday, Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal reports.

Sanders has missed more than two weeks of practice and has two weeks left to get ready before Philly's season opener in Detroit. If he can't go, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell are next up for touches, with it currently unclear which of the two would get more work.

Mattison has been the subject of trade discussions with "at least 12" teams, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The 2019 third-round pick is in the final season of his rookie contract and doesn't plan to sign an extension with the Vikings. Mattison isn't likely to get more than 5-to-7 touches per game when the team has Dalvin Cook, who missed multiple contests in each of his first five seasons. Cook's shoulder is particularly vulnerable to re-injury after numerous sprains and dislocations, but he seems to be healthy heading into a Week 1 joust with the Packers.