NFL Player News

Mixon (illness) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Though an illness prevented Mixon from practicing this past week, he'll give it a go Sunday. Assuming no setbacks, he should lead the Bengals' Week 14 rushing attack, with Samaje Perine on hand to work in a complementary role and Trayveon Williams in reserve.

Rountree (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's contest against the Giants.

With Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley all healthy, Rountree finds himself as the odd man out. The rookie six-round pick has 36 rushing attempts for 87 yards and a touchdown across 10 appearances this season, but as long as the aforementioned trio is healthy, Rountree is likely a nonfactor in all fantasy formats.

Gordon (hip/shoulder) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Lions.

After missing one game, Gordon -- who was limited in practice this past week -- is poised to reprise his timeshare role with rookie Javonte Williams, who carried 23 times for 102 yards and caught six passes (on nine targets) for 76 yards and a TD in Gordon's absence against Kansas City last weekend. It's an arrangement that has resulted in Gordon averaging 12.3 carries for 55 yards with five rushing touchdowns through 11 contests, to go along with 22 catches (on 30 targets) for 166 yards and two receiving scores. Meanwhile, Williams is averaging 11.7 carries for 55.8 yards and a pair of TDs on the ground in 12 outings while chipping in 33 catches on 42 targets for 269 yards and two receiving scores.

Walter is dealing with an illness and has been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's game against the Saints, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

That explains why Walter, though listed as active, had not played a snap in a contest he seemed poised to play a key role in. With Tevin Coleman (concussion) already out, next up for the Jets' Week 14 backfield work is the duo of La'Mical Perine and Ty Johnson.

Gibson could be in line to fill a three-down featured role out of the Washington backfield Sunday against Dallas with J.D. McKissic (concussion) inactive again.

While McKissic was sidelined in last week's win over Las Vegas, Gibson saw a big uptick in passing-down work. After playing no more than 20 percent of Washington's third downs in the team's first 11 games, Gibson was on the field for 57 percent of those scenarios Week 13, which helped him draw six targets, good for a 20 percent share of quarterback Taylor Heinicke's pass attempts on the day. Gibson accompanied the added pass-catching work with his typical high volume on the ground (23 carries for 88 yards), and with McKissic out for a second straight week, there's little reason to think Gibson's role will decrease in a major way. In fact, Gibson could have an even clearer path to reps on passing downs, as Wendell Smallwood wasn't elevated from the practice squad after he sustained an unspecified injury in the Week 13 win. Jaret Patterson and Jonathan Williams are left as the depth options behind Gibson, though neither profiles as a major pass-catching threat in the vein of McKissic or Smallwood.

Freeman is slated to serve as the top backup to starting running back Rex Burkhead in Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

When David Johnson was inactive last week due to an illness and thigh injury, Burkhead stepped into the starting role in the Texans' 31-0 loss to the Colts, while Freeman served as his top understudy. Freeman was expected to fall to third on the depth chart Sunday after Johnson returned to practice this week and wasn't given a designation, but those plans changed on short notice after Johnson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list less than two hours before kickoff. Additionally, practice-squad back Jaylen Samuels, who was elevated to the roster ahead of last week's game, was also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, leaving Freeman as the sole depth option behind Burkhead. Expect Burkhead to see the bulk of the work out of the backfield, though Freeman could have an expanded role from the 44-percent snap share and four touches (three carries, one reception) he picked up Week 13.

Elliott may be in store for an elevated role on offense Sunday against Washington with top backup Tony Pollard (foot) inactive for the contest, Jori Epstein of USA Today reports.

Elliott is already entrenched as Dallas' starting running back, but he hasn't played more than 70 percent of the offensive snaps in any of the Cowboys' last five contests while averaging 15.0 touches per game over that stretch. Dallas has been deliberately managing Elliott's reps while he continues to deal with a lingering bone bruise in his right knee, allowing Pollard to take on an expanded change-of-pace role in recent weeks. However, with Pollard having suffered a torn plantar fascia in his left foot in last week's win over the Saints, he'll be sidelined for at least one game, paving the way for Elliott to potentially take on a more expanded role. Neither of the healthy depth options behind Elliott -- Corey Clement and practice squad call-up JaQuan Hardy -- have had much involvement on offense this season, so the Cowboys seem unlikely to tab either player to directly inherit Pollard's role. If the Cowboys are still eager to manage Elliott's reps, it's possible that head coach Mike McCarthy may opt for a more pass-heavy game plan featuring more four-receiver or two-tight end sets.

Blasingame (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Blasingame returned from a four-game absence in Week 12, and he played primarily on special teams in addition to earning three rushing attempts. However, he'll now be inactive in favor of Tory Carter who has yet to log an offensive statistic this season.

Pollard (foot) is inactive for Sunday's game against Washington, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Pollard, who was viewed as a game-time decision after failing to practice in any capacity Wednesday through Friday, will be sidelined for the first time in 2021. The second-year back revealed that he tore the plantar fascia in his left foot during the Cowboys' Week 13 win over the Saints, but the team is hopeful that by holding Pollard out of Sunday's contest, he'll be healthy enough to return to the lineup as soon as Week 15 against the Giants. With Pollard out of the mix for Week 14, the Cowboys could rely more heavily on lead back Ezekiel Elliott, whose workload the team has deliberately been managing due to a knee issue that dates back to Week 4. If the Cowboys want to maintain the status quo and keep Elliott's reps in check, depth options Corey Clement and JaQuan Hardy could have roles in the game plan. Dallas could also rely more heavily on the Dak Prescott-led passing attack rather than the ground game sans Pollard.

Pollard (foot), who is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Washington, isn't expected to play, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Official confirmation of Pollard's status will arrive when Dallas releases its inactive list approximately 90 minutes prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff. With Pollard not expected to suit up, starter Ezekiel Elliott could take on a larger portion of the backfield duties after previously operating as the lead option in a timeshare arrangement with Pollard in recent weeks. Corey Clement is a candidate to mix in for reps behind Elliott, though Clement is unlikely to see as larger of a role as Pollard had previously held.