NFL Player News

Mitchell (knee) won't participate in Wednesday's practice, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Once again, the 49ers are placing practice limitations on Mitchell due to the knee injury that has bothered him since early December. He hasn't had any problem playing through the issue, earning most of the snaps given to 49ers running backs over the last four contests. During that stretch, Mitchell has averaged 23 touches for 92.8 yards from scrimmage per game while scoring two touchdowns. He'll look to mix into drills Thursday and/or Friday and enter the weekend without a designation for Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the Rams.

Rountree finished his rookie campaign with 36 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown across 12 games.

Coming out of training camp, Rountree was billed as a bludgeoning short-yardage back, but the rookie sixth-round pick was hardly effective in that role despite Los Angeles' desperate need to develop a complement to lead option Austin Ekeler. Instead, Rountree found himself a healthy inactive by the midway point of the season, and eventually served purely as special-teams depth from Week 12 onward. It's hard to imagine Rountree emerges as a capable backup to Ekeler even after 2020 draft pick Joshua Kelley underwhelmed for the second straight season, but neither back will be a clear-cut No. 2 option if the team opts to re-sign Justin Jackson who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Kelley tallied 33 carries for 102 yards and five catches for 38 yards across the 2021 campaign.

The 2020 fourth-round pick took a dramatic step backward after a disappointing rookie campaign, often waffling between the No. 3 and No. 4 back throughout 2021. At this point, Kelley may not be a lock to be retained in 2022, coming off consecutive seasons in which he averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry. The fact that the Chargers still lack quality depth behind three-down stalwart Austin Ekeler might give the UCLA product enough wiggle room to stick around in a depth role next season.

Bellamy worked out for the Packers on Tuesday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

The running back missed the entire 2021 season due to an ankle issue and was waived off injured reserve by the Broncos in December. Bellamy, an undrafted free agent, saw his only NFL action in 2020, rushing for 11 yards on four carries and catching one pass for five yards over five games for Denver.

Moss carried once for no gain across his six snaps on offense in Sunday's 42-36 overtime loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round.

Though he had a clear path to the top backup role for a second straight game with Matt Breida a healthy inactive once again, Moss did little Sunday beyond providing an occasional breather for starting back Devin Singletary. After he and Singletary mostly worked in a timeshare over the first three quarters of the season, the backfield clearly became the latter's domain down the stretch as the Bills aimed to solidify playoff positioning. With averages of 4.5 yards per carry and 5.7 yards per target over Buffalo's final seven games dating back to Week 14, Singletary seemingly answered any questions about his ability to handle a three-down workload. The Bills may pare down some of Singletary's snap counts over the course of the full 2022 campaign to ensure he's able to carry the load in the games that mean the most, but Moss probably shouldn't be viewed as much more than a high-end insurance plan entering the upcoming season.

Vaughn logged only two special-teams snaps during the Buccaneers' 30-27 divisional-round loss to the Rams on Sunday. He finished the 2021 regular season with 36 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns along with four catches on eight targets for 26 yards across 12 games.

The second-year back finished up his season the same way he began it back in September, as a complete non-factor on offense. Vaughn didn't see his first carries until Week 7 against the Bears, and he only logged another three between that game and Week 15, when multiple injuries struck the Buccaneers backfield. He performed well from that point forward, averaging 5.3 yards per rush on his 28 carries over the final four games of the regular season while adding a pair of rushing touchdowns and his four catches. The Vanderbilt product then played a significant role in the wild-card win over the Eagles, pacing the backfield with 17 carries and also recording a pair of grabs with Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette both unavailable. Neither of his backfield mates is guaranteed to be back in 2022, meaning that Vaughn's late-season taste of extended action could prove to have been an on-field audition for a much larger role next season.

Gore finished the 2021 campaign with 51 rushes for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns while reeling in eight of his nine targets for 105 yards.

Gore's role changed over the course of the year depending on the health of Kansas City's other backs. He recorded 22 carries for 110 yards and caught four passes for 69 yards over the final three weeks of the regular season. He enters the offseason as an exclusive rights free agent, so he will likely be back with the team next season.

Robinson's return timeline from an Achilles injury remains unclear at this stage, but Michael DiRocco of ESPN suggests it's possible the running back could be ready for the start of the 2022 season.

Robinson suffered a torn Achilles back on Dec. 26 and faces a lengthy recovery period, so it's not a lock that he'll be a go for Week 1. The recent return of Rams RB Cam Akers from a similar injury does offer hope that Robinson could factor in early on next season, however. Once he is back, the 23-year-old will face competition from 2021 first-rounder Travis Etienne, who is bouncing back from a Lisfranc injury that he suffered this past August, while veteran Carlos Hyde is also under contract with the Jaguars through the 2022 campaign, and there's always the possibility further depth is brought in via free agency or the draft. Robinson's progress should become clearer once the team resumes its on-field activities. Prior to his injury, he recorded 767 yards and eight TDs on 164 carries and added 31 catches for 222 yards in 14 games.

Wilson suffered a low-ankle sprain during Saturday's divisional-round win in Green Bay but has a chance to play in Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the Rams, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Wilson picked up the injury while in coverage on the opening kickoff this past Saturday. Fortunately for the fourth-year running back, he doesn't have a more serious high-ankle sprain, per coach Kyle Shanahan. Wilson's activity level in practice this week likely will determine whether he's able to suit up Sunday.

Barner signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on Monday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Barner joined Tampa Bay's practice squad in mid-December and was elevated to the active roster for the final three games of the regular season. He had four carries for zero yards and also returned six punts for 47 yards. His likeliest path to a roster spot in 2022 will be as a return man, assuming he's able to stick around with the Bucs through the offseason.