NFL Player News

Breida has seen plenty of reps with the second team during training camp, Pat Lanni of NJ Advance Media reports.

Breida was signed by the Giants in March after playing for three different teams over the past three campaigns. The 27-year-old averaged 4.8 yards per carry with Buffalo last season, but he got into only nine games. Saquon Barkley is in line to take on a workhorse role as long as he remains healthy, but there's not much in terms of depth behind him and Breida. As such, the latter would likely see significant usage should Barkley be hit with another injury.

Cook left Tuesday's practice with what appeared to be a hand injury, returned for one snap and then sat out the rest of practice, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The injury appears minor but it's worth monitoring during training camp. Cook's usage in training camp is also worth watching, as he could be used more as a receiver and less as a workhorse rusher in new head coach Kevin O'Connell's offense. Either way, Cook still will be a focal point, perhaps trading some carries for targets and likely experiencing positive TD regression after scoring only six with 1,383 yards from scrimmage last year.

Mattison appeared to injure a finger during Tuesday's practice and left early, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The injury appears minor, but it's worth monitoring during training camp. Mattison is set to reprise his role as the backup to starter Dalvin Cook, and he's one of the better No. 2 RBs in the league. In four games as the Vikings' primary running back last season with Cook sidelined, Mattison totaled 356 rushing yards, 162 receiving yards and three touchdowns. However, he had just 135 yards rushing in the 12 games when Cook was healthy. It's possible new head coach Kevin O'Connell could look to give Cook more rest this year, but even then a significant increase in Mattison's touches isn't guaranteed.

Bell (hamstring) will "be down for a little bit," according to head coach Dan Campbell, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Bell suffered the injury during practice last Thursday and still isn't quite ready to return. The San Diego State alum joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent this spring and was likely facing an uphill battle to make the squad. Any significant time missed will likely hurt the 24-year-old's chances of earning a spot on the Lions.

Gainwell will have a role in the Eagles' offense this season, though Miles Sanders remains the team's top running back, Bo Wulf of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

The Eagles have rotated Gainwell, Sanders and Boston Scott through reps with the first-team offense in practice, but head coach Nick Sirianni made it clear that Sanders is still the starter. Gainwell had 68 carries and 33 catches as a rookie, reaching double-digit touches five times.

Perine (undisclosed) appears to be ahead of Chris Evans in the competition to secure the backup job behind Joe Mixon, Chris Roling of the USA Today reports.

With that in mind, coach Zac Taylor recently noted that "(Perine'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." Either way, Evans -- a 2021 sixth-rounder -- has a chance to factor in, particularly in passing situations, but as long as Perine can stay healthy, he'll be in the mix for early-down touches that don't go to Mixon. To that point, it's worth noting that trainers had a look at Perine during practice Tuesday after he came up lame on punt drill, according to Jay Morrison of The Athletic.

Williams has been getting some of the first-team reps in training camp, but he could face more competition for playing time following Detroit's recent signing of Justin Jackson, MLive.com's Kyle Meinke reports.

Jackson is an experienced but oft-injured backup, while Williams is the former but not the latter, having played 73 of a possible 81 games through five pro seasons. Williams did miss four games last year, accounting for half his career total, though two of the absences were caused by COVID-19. He's still a solid favorite to enter Week 1 as the Lions' No. 2 back behind D'Andre Swift, whose workload is being managed throughout training camp to keep him ready for the regular season. It remains to be seen how much of the workload Swift cedes to the other backs, including Williams, come September, October and beyond.

Foreman appeared to suffer a foot or ankle injury at Tuesday's practice and rode a bike on the side after exiting the session, Augusta Stone of panthers.com reports.

It's a good sign Foreman stayed on the sideline and was able to move around under his own power, perhaps hinting at a bruise or minor sprain rather than something more serious. He and Chuba Hubbard are competing for backup roles behind do-it-all back Christian McCaffrey, who made only 10 appearances total the past two seasons after starting his career with three straight 16-game campaigns.

Coach Sean McVay recently said Akers has been "getting more comfortable" and "caught up to speed" following his Achilles tear last year, ESPN's Sarah Barshop reports.

Akers surprisingly made it back for the playoffs after tearing his Achilles in mid-July, but he didn't look like the same player that ran for 221 yards and two TDs in two playoff games the previous year. The strong finish to his rookie season had Akers going in the second round of fantasy drafts before his injury last summer, and he still has the potential to justify that price tag if he can handle a three-down role in McVay's offense. On the other hand, he'll lose a lot of work to Darrell Henderson and/or other backs if he looks like he did in January and February.

Nwangwu is considered day-to-day with a soft-tissue injury in his leg, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Nwangwu didn't practice Tuesday but is expected back in the not-too-distant future. His value on special teams should ensure the 2021 fourth-round pick of a roster spot, but earning work on offense will be a challenge in a backfield that also has Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison and rookie fifth-round pick Ty Chandler. Nwangwu's absence from practice should leave more reps for Chandler, in particular.