NFL Player News

McCaffrey is not in line to play in Friday's preseason finale against the Bills, Darin Gantt of the Panthers official site reports.

The same applies to wide receivers Robbie Anderson (quad), Andre Roberts and Brandon Zylstra, along with tight ends Ian Thomas and Colin Thompson, as well as running back Spencer Brown. As the report notes, McCaffrey hasn't played in the preseason in years, with the Panthers erring on the side of caution here with their franchise back, whose next game action will occur in Week 1 against the Browns.

Cook and other starters aren't expected to play in Saturday's preseason game at Denver, with coach Kevin O'Connell prioritizing health ahead of Week 1 against Green Bay, Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune reports.

Cook has five career preseason touches and won't add to the total this year, held out for a third straight game along with QB Kirk Cousins, WR Justin Jefferson and others. O'Connell may favor the passing game more than Minnesota's old coaching staff did, but his offense could still be beneficial for Cook's fantasy value if it leads to more targets, more goal-line chances or increased play volume for the team overall. Cook will start the regular season facing a Green Bay defense that held him to 99 yards on 31 carries (3.2 YPC) last year.

Pierce likely will be the Texans' top running back in their season opener against the Colts on Sept. 11, Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle reports.

Pierce was rested for Houston's second preseason game after running for 49 yards off the bench in the opener, and he then capped things off by starting the final exhibition and taking six carries for 37 yards and a touchdown in a win over the 49ers. Marlon Mack had a decent preseason with 21 carries for 90 yards, but he mostly got work in the second half of the finale, long after Pierce had been pulled. The fourth-round rookie should be Houston's lead runner to start the season, with Rex Burkhead the preferred back for clear passing situations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.