NFL Player News

Brightwell (neck) is not participating in Wednesday's practice, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

Brightwell suffered a neck injury in the first half of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys and did not retake the field. The special-teams contributor will have two more chances to practice ahead of Week 16's road matchup against the Eagles.

Barkley (ankle) was a limited practice participant Wednesday, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official sitereports.

Barkley has played five straight games since missing the middle part of the season (Weeks 6 through 10) with an ankle injury, but the Giants have given Devontae Booker a little more work in recent weeks. Over the past two contests, Barkley's offensive snap share has dropped to 55 and 59 percent. Granted, Barkley still managed 31 carries and 11 targets between the two games, with efficiency being the larger issue for him within a struggling, injury-riddled offense. Barkley's outlook isn't likely to get much better this Sunday, when he faces a solid Eagles defense with either Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm under center for the Giants.

Patterson rushed four times for 20 yards and a touchdown in Tuesday's 27-17 loss to the Eagles.

Patterson has now topped 20 yards in three of the last five games. J.D. McKissic (concussion) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, so Patterson should continue to see a slight uptick in work behind lead back Antonio Gibson.

The Jaguars placed Etienne (foot) on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, John Shipley of SI.com reports.

Etienne is already out for the season after undergoing foot surgery back in August, so his move to the COVID-19 list is largely procedural after he tested positive for the virus, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The rookie first-round pick is working to make a full recovery for the start of the Jaguars' offseason program.

Kelly reverted to the Browns' practice squad Tuesday, per the NFL's official transaction log.

Kelly played just six snaps on special teams during Monday's loss to the Raiders and will now head back to the team's practice squad. Even if Kareem Hunt (ankle) remains out Saturday against the Packers, Kelly is unlikely to be a viable fantasy option.

Evans failed to record a single carry in Sunday's 15-10 win over the Broncos.

Evans played on just six of the Bengals' 53 offensive snaps Sunday and did not receive a single carry or target while on the field. This was the rookie's first game back after a two-game absence due to an ankle injury. As the team's No. 3 running back, Evans is typically a nonfactor with both Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine healthy. At the end of the game against the Broncos, however, Mixon suffered an ankle injury that doesn't appear to be too serious. In the event that Mixon is forced to miss time, Evans would likely serve in a chance-of-pace role behind Perine. Even so, the 24-year-old is not an inspiring option for fantasy. The Bengals are set to take on the Ravens in Week 16.

Dallas rushed eight times for 41 yards and a touchdown while catching three of four targets for 11 more yards in Tuesday's 20-10 loss to the Rams.

Dallas appeared to have fallen out of favor after seeing just two touches last week while Rashaad Penny dominated on the ground. Head coach Pete Carroll reverted to a timeshare between the two backs, and Dallas turned out to be the better option from a fantasy perspective. Penny figures to see more action in games that the Seahawks either go up early in or dominate the time of possession in. Thus, Dallas may find himself seeing less usage in a matchup against the lowly Bears on Sunday.

Penny rushed 11 times for 39 yards while catching both of his targets for five yards in Tuesday's 20-10 loss to the Rams.

Penny wound up splitting touches with fellow back DeeJay Dallas, finishing with two more total touches while the latter collected the team's lone touchdown. Head coach Pete Carroll stated that he would continue to use a combination of backs to close out this injury-plagued season, but that Penny deserved a shot to continue starting after going off against the Texans last week (16-137-2). The 2018 first-round pick will get a far softer matchup against the Bears on Sunday.

Gibson rushed 15 times for 26 yards and a touchdown and brought in six of seven targets for 39 yards in Washington's 27-17 loss to the Eagles on Tuesday night.

Gibson overcame a minor toe injury early in the contest to log a solid workload, but there was little running room to be had against a surprisingly stout Eagles front. However, the second-year back did make a sizable impact through the air, pacing the team in receptions in the process. Gibson may have a more favorable matchup as a rusher in a Week 16 road battle against the Cowboys on Sunday night.

Mitchell (knee) was listed as a non-participant for Tuesday's walk-through practice.

The 23-year-old hasn't logged any practice activity since suffering a concussion Week 13 versus the Seahawks, but he's since cleared the NFL's five-step protocol for head coach injuries. At this stage, Mitchell is still trying to work past a knee issue, though head coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that Mitchell did "some encouraging things" despite not taking part in the walk-through, according to David Lombardi of The Athletic. General manager John Lynch was similarly positive about Mitchell's situation Tuesday, noting that the running back has "taken a positive turn" in his recovery, per Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. Even so, Mitchell likely will need to show more tangible signs of progress at Wednesday's session to have a legitimate chance of suiting up Thursday at Tennessee. If Mitchell ends up missing a third straight game, Jeff Wilson will get another turn as San Francisco's lead back.