NFL Player News
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Najee Harris RB | LAC
Steelers' Najee Harris: Slated to play Sunday
Harris is slated to play in Sunday's preseason finale against the Lions, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
That said, we wouldn't expect the Steelers' top back to log extensive action in the contest. With that in mind, the team's depth backs -- Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, Jaylen Warren and Max Borghi -- should see their share of work Sunday, with backfield depth chart slotting on the line ahead of looming roster cuts.
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Tony Pollard RB | TEN
Cowboys' Tony Pollard: Set for role in slot
Pollard is expected to see work in the slot this season in addition to his snaps out of the backfield, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.
To this point in his NFL career, Pollard has been exclusively as a running back, but he mostly lined up as a wide receiver for Memphis prior to being taken in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. "There is a ton of it on film. A lot of it is coming back to him," Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said this week. "He's not going to run [just] the running back route tree, the quick game and just kind of the completion plays. He can stretch people vertically, and I think that will be a huge advantage for him to put people in conflict of how they want to handle him." Neither Pollard nor Ezekiel Elliott will take part in any preseason games, so it won't become clear until Week 1 just how Moore plans to deploy them both, but with CeeDee Lamb (foot) as the only wideout with any real experience likely to be in the lineup to begin the year, there should be an opportunity for Pollard to see more than just token snaps as a receiver.
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Patrick Taylor RB | SF
Packers' Patrick Taylor: Tallies 10 touches Thursday
Taylor had seven carries for 34 yards and three receptions for 17 yards in Thursday's exhibition game against the Chiefs.
Taylor worked behind Tyler Goodson in Thursday's contest, but he still finished with just two fewer touches than his counterpart. Goodson -- an undrafted rookie -- has made a strong run for a roster spot, and if he snags one it will almost certainly come at Taylor's expense. However, Taylor has been with Green Bay since 2020, so he has the edge in the experience department.
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Tyler Goodson RB | ATL
Packers' Tyler Goodson: Finds paydirt in finale
Goodson had seven carries for 28 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's preseason finale against the Chiefs. He also caught five passes for 26 yards and returned two kicks for 27 yards.
Goodson was held in check on most of his 12 touches in the Packers' final exhibition contest, but he did score on an impressive 24-yard run early in the second quarter. With 167 yards from scrimmage over the last three weeks, the undrafted rookie has done just about all he could have to earn a roster spot. The Packers could still elect to keep Patrick Taylor as the third running back, but Goodson was the more impressive of the two during the preseason.
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Jerick McKinnon RB | KC
Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon: One catch in limited duty
McKinnon didn't get a carry but caught one of two targets for three yards in Thursday's preseason game against the Packers.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire made a token appearance in the game before calling it a night and McKinnon wasn't much more involved, suggesting they are the two members of the Kansas City backfield who are locked into roles and had nothing to prove to the coaching staff. McKinnon saw only 12 carries and 13 catches across 13 games with the team in the 2021 regular season but he was much more involved in the playoffs, seeing at least 15 touches in all three postseason games while Edwards-Helaire wasn't 100 percent. With either Ronald Jones or rookie Isiah Pacheco, or potentially both, also in the mix this season however, McKinnon isn't guaranteed that kind of workload even if Edwards-Helaire misses time this coming season.
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Ronald Jones RB | DAL
Chiefs' Ronald Jones: Push for roster spot continues
Jones carried the ball eight times for 43 yards and caught his only target for four yards in Thursday's preseason game against the Packers.
Kansas City starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire got the team's first carry of the night on a play that was wiped out by a holding penalty, but he immediately checked out of the game and Jones handled most of the backfield work until the first possession of the second half. While the former Buccaneer posted strong numbers, rookie Isiah Pacheco led the club in rushing with 52 yards, and Jerick McKinnon also saw limited action on passing downs. Kansas City could elect to keep all four backs on the 53-man roster, but Jones' extensive action Thursday could also have been an attempt by the club to showcase him for a trade. It's not yet clear how snaps and touches will be split behind Edwards-Helaire, so if Jones remains in K.C. he'll be a total wild card from a fantasy perspective.
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Isiah Pacheco RB | DET
Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Productive late Thursday
Pacheco carried the ball 10 times for 52 yards in Thursday's preseason game against the Packers. He also returned one kickoff for 17 yards.
Most of the rookie's touches came in the second half, but Pacheco did spot in on Kansas City's second drive of the night and saw his 18-yard carry wiped out by a holding penalty. The team's backfield still seems unsettled behind starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire, as Ronald Jones also played well Thursday while Jerick McKinnon saw limited action in passing situations, but Pacheco's performance this preseason should at the very least have him locked into a spot on the 53-man roster.
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Jeff Wilson RB | MIA
49ers' Jeff Wilson: Starts preseason finale
Wilson started Thursday's 17-0 preseason loss to the Texans and rushed three times for 16 yards while catching his only target for two yards.
Wilson's deployment was more important than his stat line, as he was the first running back into the game for the 49ers, suggesting that he remains the team's top option at the position behind Elijah Mitchell (hamstring). The 49ers expect to get Mitchell back for the team's Sept. 11 season opener against Chicago, but Wilson appears to be next in line to start should Mitchell's recovery hit a snag.
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Marlon Mack RB | ARI
Texans' Marlon Mack: Works in second half Thursday
Mack had 10 carries for 55 yards during Thursday's preseason win against the 49ers.
After starting the Texans' first two exhibitions, Mack didn't take the field until the second half of preseason Week 3, yielding the start to rookie fourth-round pick Dameon Pierce (six rushes for 37 yards and one TD). Rex Burkhead also got run in the first half en route to 11 touches for 31 yards from scrimmage. It's unclear if this signifies a change in the pecking order of Houston's backfield, and it also should be noted Mack's healthy 5.5 YPC occurred against San Francisco's reserve defense. In any case, the trio seems to all be safe bets to make the Texans' initial active roster, as Dare Ogunbowale and Royce Freeman earned their touches in the third and fourth quarters Thursday.
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Dameon Pierce RB | PHI
Texans' Dameon Pierce: Finds end zone in starting role
Pierce rushed six times for 37 yards and a touchdown as Houston's starting running back in Thursday's 17-0 preseason win over San Francisco.
Pierce was the only Texans running back to touch the ball on the opening drive, which he capped with a one-yard rushing touchdown. The rookie out of Florida seems to have cemented himself as Houston's top option in the backfield heading into the regular season, with the versatile Rex Burkhead also in the mix, along with Marlon Mack, who didn't see the field until the second half Thursday.