NFL Player News

Penny (calf) rushed six times for nine yards in Monday's 13-10 loss to the Saints.

Penny handled 20 offensive snaps (36 percent) but couldn't get anything going on the ground. Penny's performance alone doesn't warrant more playing time moving forward, but Alex Collins -- who rushed 16 times for 35 yards -- failed to distinguish himself as well. Collins will likely start as the lead back in Week 8 against the Jaguars, though Penny could have a chance to take over the job if he gets the hot hand.

McKinnon compiled a pair of catches for 17 yards on four targets Sunday versus the Titans.

McKinnon didn't carry the ball once and saw just 20 snaps Sunday despite Clyde Edwards-Helaire being unavailable for the contest. With CEH's return eventually coming, it doesn't seem like McKinnon will possess much fantasy value barring Darrel Williams joining Edwards-Helaire on the sidelines.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he anticipates having McFarland (knee) back from injured reserve for the Steelers' Week 8 game in Cleveland, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

According to Pryor, McFarland revealed Oct. 15 that the unspecified issue that has kept him on injured reserve all season is a torn MCL, an injury that occurred in practice and was an aggravation of the one he initially sustained in college at Maryland. McFarland said that he feels good since returning to practice Oct. 6, and Tomlin added Tuesday that the Steelers will see how much work the running back is able to do this week before determining if he'll be active Sunday in Cleveland. Even if he suits up this weekend, McFarland isn't expected to have much of a role behind rookie first-round pick Najee Harris, who has been a three-down workhorse for Pittsburgh throughout the season.

Head coach Sean McVay said Monday that he's "definitely not" ruling Akers (Achilles) out from playing if the Rams should qualify for the playoffs, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. "You don't want to be presumptuous at all. We've got to handle our business but if you said we give ourselves an opportunity to play after the season, would there be a possible Cam sighting playing for the Rams? That's not something I would rule out," McVay said.

When Akers suffered a torn Achilles tendon in late July, the assumption was he would miss the entirety of the 2021 regular season and postseason. While a return during the playoffs is still far from a lock, Akers looks like he'll at least have an outside shot at making in back in mid-to-late January, given how well his rehab process has gone thus far. He has been sharing updates on his rehab through his personal Instagram account, with the running back most recently posting a video last week of himself going through ladder drills. According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, McVay added that Akers is currently running "pretty effortlessly."

Williams had two carries for 10 yards and caught both of his targets for 24 yards Sunday against the Bengals.

Latavius Murray's injury paved the way for Williams to rejoin the active roster Sunday. The run game went out the window in the second half when the Bengals started to build a multiscore lead, so no Baltimore running back saw much work. Williams, along with Le'Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman, each saw more than 20 snaps, but none of them tallied more than five carries. Baltimore is on bye this week, which gives Murray added time to get healthy. That could complicate Williams' status for Week 9 if Murray is indeed active, though neither Bell nor Freeman are outplaying Williams by any significant measure.

With Nick Chubb (calf) returning to practice Monday, as reported by Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Johnson may not be the lead back Week 8 against the Steelers.

Last week, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski was optimistic Chubb could return for the Pittsburgh game, and the coach sounded even more confident Monday. "He's gotten a lot of work done this last couple weeks. He's feeling good. He's continuing to get rehab, and I think he's excited to get back out there. We'll see how it goes over the next couple days and see if he can," Stefanski said. To be clear, Ulrich reported Chubb's return to practice but did not speculate on the impact a potential return would have on Johnson's playing time. Logically though, if Chubb is ready to play, then Johnson's role will be diminished.

Kamara rushed 20 times for 51 yards and caught 10 of 11 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown in Monday's 13-10 win over Seattle.

Kamara became the fastest man in NFL history to reach 3,000 rushing yards and 3,000 receiving yards, doing so in his 66th game. He topped 100 receiving yards in the first half alone, highlighted by a 13-yard touchdown catch in the final minute before halftime. Neither offense got much going on a rainy Seattle evening, but Kamara nonetheless willed the Saints to victory while no teammate eclipsed 40 scrimmage yards. The versatile running back will likely continue to do most of his damage as a pass catcher in Week 8, as running room will be hard to come by against the stout Tampa Bay front.

Sanders is considered "week-to-week" with his low-ankle sprain, coach Nick Sirianni told Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia on Monday.

The Eagles don't consider Sanders' injury to be a serious one, but it's unclear if he'll be able to go Sunday at Detroit. Per Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sirianni also mentioned the team isn't "ruling him out yet," so Sanders may get on the practice field this week and test out his ankle. In the event Philadelphia is without Sanders in Week 8, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott will be the primary running backs, while Jordan Howard will be a candidate to be brought up from the practice squad.

Hasty (ankle) was on the field for 19 offensive snaps (34 percent) Sunday, finishing with three carries for one yard and three receptions (six targets) for 15 yards in a 30-18 loss to the Colts.

Hasty lived up to his surname, returning to action after spending the minimum time of three games on injured reserve. The 24-year-old resumed his role as the club's change-of-pace/third-down back. Hasty won't provide much fantasy value in this role so long as Elijah Mitchell (18 carries, 107 yards and a touchdown) is healthy and performing well.

The Seahawks activated Penny (calf) from injured reserve ahead of Monday's game against the Saints, John Boyle of the team's official site reports.

The return of Penny provides some much-needed aid to a banged-up Seattle backfield, as top option Chris Carson (neck) remains on injured reserve, while Carson's primary replacement, Alex Collins (groin), is listed as questionable for the Week 7 contest. Collins is expected to avoid the inactive list Monday, but if head coach Pete Carroll has any reservations of handing Collins a full workload, Penny likely would represent the next man up for carries, with reserves DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer tasked mainly with pass-catching work. Penny has a checkered medical history, but he's proven to be a dynamic runner when healthy during his four-year career, averaging an excellent 5.1 yards per carry on 163 attempts.