NFL Player News

Wilkins has been waived by the Colts.

Wilkins will presumably revert to the team's practice squad should he ultimately go unclaimed off waivers. With four healthy backs on the roster, it looks like he was the odd man out.

Barkley (ankle) has been ruled out for Monday night's game against Kansas City.

Barkley was listed as a "DNP' throughout the week, and he'll now miss his third straight contest. In his continued absence, Devontae Booker will head the Giants' Week 8 rushing attack, with Elijhaa Penny mixing in.

Washington (neck) will remain sidelined for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

Washington absence will mark his second straight due to a neck injury. He was unable to practice all week, so this news is relatively unsurprising. He is primarily used on special teams when healthy.

Gainwell likely will be the Eagles' top running back with Miles Sanders (ankle) ruled out for Sunday's game in Detroit, Bo Wulf and Zach Berman of The Athletic report.

The rookie saw five carries and eight targets on 51 percent snap share in last week's loss to the Raiders, while Boston Scott got seven carries and two targets on 33 percent share. That was with Sanders playing most of the first quarter and taking seven touches of his own before the ankle injury, though for the most part his 2021 workload has been heavier on snaps than carries with QB Jalen Hurts dominating Philadelphia's offensive volume. It is possible coach Nick Sirianni makes more of an effort to run the ball moving forward, but Scott and Jordan Howard are also candidates to take those carries if it happens. Gainwell does get an excellent matchup against the Lions this weekend, and he's second on the team in targets (31) this year.

Coach Brandon Staley relayed Friday that he's hopeful Ekeler (hip) will be able to play Sunday against the Patriots.

Staley noted that Ekeler felt a little bit sore after a strong effort at Wednesday's practice, so the Chargers held the running back out of the team's past two sessions. On the plus side, Staley indicated that Ekeler is feeling better at this stage. While that sounds promising, for now Ekeler -- who is officially listed as questionable -- can be considered a game-day call in advance of Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. If he's limited or out versus New England, added Week 8 backfield touches would be available for Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree.

McNichols will retake his previous role as Derrick Henry's backup, as Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports that Darrynton Evans (knee) has been placed on IR and will miss the remainder of the season.

McNichols and Evans split the leftovers behind Henry in Evans' lone appearance of the season last week, and McNichols was limited to just one touch in that game. With Evans out of the picture again, McNichols should see a workload closer to the 4.8 touches per game he averaged in the first five before getting injured early in Week 6. McNichols' fantasy relevance will likely remain limited to deeper leagues as long as Henry stays healthy.

Evans (knee) was placed on IR on Friday and will miss the remainder of the season, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Evans started the season on IR and missed the first six weeks due to his bothersome knee before suiting up in Week 7 against Kansas City. His knee evidently didn't feel right in that game, which is why the team has opted to shut Evans down again. Being placed on IR the second time means Evans will miss the remainder of the campaign, so receiving back Jeremy McNichols will go back to working as Derrick Henry's primary backup.

Ekeler (hip) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Patriots after missing practice both Thursday and Friday.

We'll look for added clarity with regard to Ekeler's status as the Chargers' 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff approaches, and ideally NFL insiders such as Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport will have added context to report by late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. If Ekeler ends up out or limited versus New England, Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree would be in line for added Week 8 backfield opportunities.

Williams (thigh) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Eagles.

Williams didn't show up on the Lions' Week 8 injury report until Thursday as limited due to a thigh injury, which extended into Friday. Both Williams and No. 1 RB D'Andre Swift (groin) are listed as questionable for Sunday, but the latter has gutted out his injury and played in every game this season. Assuming Williams is out there this week, he shouldn't have a problem earning double-digit touches, as he's done in six of seven games on the campaign.

Swift (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Eagles.

It's the same deal as every previous week this season, with Swift a limited participant and listed as questionable due to a groin injury. He's handled at least 12 touches and 56 percent of snaps in each game nonetheless, including three straight weeks with at least 17 touches and 74 percent share. Swift should be fine for his usual workload Sunday afternoon against the Eagles.