NFL Player News

Elliott, who left Sunday's game against the Broncos with a right knee contusion, was subsequently able to return to the contest, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Good news for the Cowboys, but at a minimum, we'd expect Elliott's name to appear on the team's injury report ahead of next Sunday's game against the Falcons.

Phillips (leg) is questionable to return for Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

It remains to be seen if Phillips is able to return to action, though his availability won't have a significant fantasy impact since he plays a depth role in the Texans' backfield. David Johnson, Rex Burkhead and Phillip Lindsay should remain the top backfield options for Houston.

Elliott was forced out of Sunday's game against the Broncos with a right knee contusion, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Prior to his exit from the contest, Elliott had carried six times for 27 yards and caught two passes for 21 yards. Next up for the Cowboys' carries in his absence is Tony Pollard.

Brightwell (undisclosed) is unavailable for Sunday's game against the Raiders, according to Dan Benton of USA Today.

Brightwell missed Thursday's and Friday's practices after landing in the COVID-19 protocol and wasn't activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. With Saquon Barkley (ankle) still sidelined, the Giants are down to Devontae Booker, Elijhaa Penny and Cullen Gillaspia out of the backfield.

Freeman (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's contest against the Patriots, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official website reports.

Christian McCaffrey is active for Sunday's contest, which leaves Freeman as the odd man out in the Panthers' running back room. McCaffrey is expected to be on a snap count, so Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah will be the primary backups Sunday.

Taylor is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

With Taylor inactive again Sunday, Brandon Bolden and Rhamondre Stevenson will handle change-of-pace/complementary snaps in Week 9 behind New England's top back, Damien Harris.

Hubbard is expected to see his snap and touch count take a hit Sunday against the Patriots with Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) suiting up for the first time since Week 3, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.

Even with McCaffrey back in the fold, there's an expectation he'll be on a limit of around 30 to 40 snaps as he works his way back from a strained hamstring, per David Newton of ESPN.com. As a result, Hubbard will remain involved in Carolina's offense, but he may be hard-pressed to approach the 20.4 touches per game he was given during McCaffrey's five-game absence. It's difficult to project what can be expected of both backs, and a smaller workload for Hubbard may not pay dividends for a player averaging just 3.6 yards per carry this season.

Evans (hamstring) is officially active for Sunday's game versus Cleveland, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

Evans was considered questionable for Sunday after sitting out last week's loss to the Jets with the hamstring issue, but he's been cleared to take the field. Now that he's healthy, the 24-year-old should see sporadic opportunities as a change-of-pace back behind Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine.

McCaffrey (hamstring) is listed as active Sunday versus the Patriots, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

The Panthers signaled McCaffrey would be making his return to action Week 9 by activating him from injured reserve Saturday. While McCaffrey has essentially been a must-start fantasy option since entering the NFL in 2017, there's a chance he won't log his typical voluminous snap and touch counts as he eases into it after straining his hamstring back in Week 3. According to David Newton of ESPN.com, McCaffrey is expected to be limited to a "pitch count" of 30 to 40 snaps, which could leave some work left over for Chuba Hubbard -- who averaged 20.4 touches per game during McCaffrey's five-game absence -- and Ameer Abdullah.

Murray (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Vikings.

With Murray out for a second consecutive game, Devonta Freeman, Le'Veon Bell and Ty'Son Williams are in line to continue to work in a backfield time-share for the Ravens in Week 9. It's a context that resulted in Freeman logging four carries and three targets on 29 snaps in the team's Week 7 loss to the Bengals, with Bell carrying five times and recording two targets (on 22 snaps) and Williams notching two carries and two targets, while seeing 21 snaps. Until one of the team's backs emerges as the hot hand, this looks like a committee situation to avoid in most fantasy formats.