NFL Player News

Head coach Dan Campbell specified Jefferson as a player having a productive training camp, Colton Pouncy of The Athletic reports.

After a productive career at Oregon, Jefferson failed to find his footing as a seventh-round rookie last year in Detroit. By season's end, both converted safety Godwin Igwebuike and Kutztown product Craig Reynolds had earned more snaps and game appearances than him. However, it seems that Jefferson has worked his way back into the mix this offseason, which opens the door for him to compete with Igwebuike, Reynolds and Justin Jackson for the No. 3 running back job behind D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.

McFarland made a pair of big plays during Thursday's practice session, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

McFarland was a fourth-round pick by the Steelers in 2020, but he's on the roster bubble ahead of the 2022 season. The 23-year-old has had minimal work over his first two professional seasons, rushing 36 times for 116 yards while securing seven of 10 targets for 65 yards. However, he broke off a 70-yard touchdown run during Thursday's practice session before making a contested catch along the sideline later in the day. McFarland is competing with Benny Snell and Mataeo Durant to serve as backfield depth for the Steelers ahead of the regular season. Even if McFarland wins a roster spot, he's unlikely to be a significant fantasy contributor as long as Najee Harris (foot) is healthy.

Robinson (Achilles) won't play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Raiders, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Robinson continues to work his way back from an Achilles' injury, so it's no surprise that he'll sit this one out. Fellow running back Travis Etienne also isn't slated to play Thursday, which leaves the likes of Snoop Conner, Mekhi Sargent, Ryquell Armstead and Nathan Cottrell as candidates to handle the team's backfield reps against Las Vegas.

Bell (hamstring) reverted to the Lions' injured reserve Thursday, per the NFL's official transaction report.

Detroit waived Bell with an injury designation Wednesday, but he will land on the team's IR after passing through waivers unclaimed. As a result, the 24-year-old undrafted running back will be forced to sit out the entirety of the 2022 campaign unless he can reach an injury settlement with the team.

Cecil Lammey of 104.3 The Fan reports that Williams has taken the first snap at six of seven practices and could get around 70 percent of the RB workload this year, while Benjamin Albright of KOA Colorado suggests the split between William and Melvin Gordon at camp has been around 55/45.

There's widespread agreement about Williams being the No. 1 back, after Gordon had the slightly larger portion of a timeshare most of last year. The extent of Gordon's 2022 involvement is where disagreement begins, and while there's a good chance we don't really know until after Week 1, it nonetheless figures to remain a popular topic of discussion. Williams had late-first-round fantasy hype this offseason when Gordon was a free agent, with the second-year pro later dropping to a third-round ADP after the Broncos re-signed the 29-year-old in late April. Given Williams' talent along with Denver's offseason upgrade at QB, a 70/30 split should be enough to match or beat his draft price. A 55/45 split, on the other hand, would make it tricky, requiring superhuman efficiency and/or a glut of TDs.

Evans remains behind Samaje Perine in the battle to be Joe Mixon's backup, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports. Speaking of Perine, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said: "He's certainly got a leg up right now in that battle, but that's what training camp is for. Plenty of times, guys step up and have huge growth. We'll see where it goes."

This tracks with how Perine was used ahead of Evans last season. Evans still has pass-catching upside, but he needs to impress the coaching staff more in all phases of the game to be next in line behind Mixon.

Coach John Harbaugh relayed Thursday that Dobbins (knee) remains in a hurry to resume practicing, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Dobbins remains on the PUP list after more than a week of training camp, though he said at the very beginning that he felt he was ready for practice. The Ravens are holding him back, albeit with Harbaugh acknowledging multiple times that Dobbins is ahead of Gus Edwards in the rehab process. Both suffered ACL tears, and while Dobbins' reportedly was accompanied by other damage in his knee, it's Edwards who seems to be a bit behind rehab expectations. Dobbins still profiles as the lead back once he's ready, as the healthy options at Baltimore training camp right now are Mike Davis, Justice Hill, Corey Clement and Nate McCrary -- not the most inspiring bunch unless you're prioritizing coverage and blocking on special teams units.

Coach John Harbaugh said Thursday that Edwards (knee) is a little behind the Ravens' other rehabbing players, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The list includes J.K. Dobbins, who also is coming back from an ACL injury and remains on the PUP list despite reportedly being antsy to practice. Reports at one point suggested Dobbins would have a tougher rehab due to additional ligament damage in his knee, but it seems to have gone the other way around, with Edwards now in more danger of missing the start of the season. Mike Davis, Justice Hill, Corey Clement and Nate McCrary have been getting RB reps at Baltimore training camp.

Gibson (hamstring) followed his ramp-up plan for the first week of training camp and now has resumed practicing with teammates, Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reports.

It sounds like Gibson has avoided any setbacks with the hamstring injury that limited his participation in spring practices. He also mentioned dropping a few pounds, going from the mid-230s to low 230s, though the Commanders listed him at 220 both last season and this year. Gibson reportedly wants to get down to 220-225 before Week 1, which especially makes sense if rumors of rookie Brian Robinson stealing short-yardage work are to be believed. Gibson was the team's grinder last year, and it might actually work in his favor if he trades some inside runs for outside runs and/or receptions. On the other hand, losing goal-line work would be an obvious problem for fantasy, and the receiving ceiling is probably around three catches per game unless passing-down back J.D. McKissic is eventually injured or phased out.

Shampklin is sidelined from training camp practices for several days after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Shampklin joins fellow running back Rico Dowdle as unavailable to practice due to COVID-19. The rookie joined the Cowboys in May as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard and is currently at the bottom of Dallas' running back depth chart.