NFL Player News

Head coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday that Montgomery will "miss some time" with a knee sprain, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports.

Nagy didn't get into specifics regarding a recovery timeline for Montgomery, but Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reported Tuesday that the running back would likely miss four or five weeks. With Nagy confirming that Montgomery will be sidelined, the Bears have Damien Williams (thigh) and Khalil Herbert as backfield options on the active roster for Week 5 at Las Vegas. Chicago also has Artavis Pierce and Ryan Nall on the practice squad, while Tarik Cohen (knee) is on the PUP list through at least Week 6.

The Titans designated Evans (knee) for a return from injured reserve Wednesday.

Tennessee now has a 21-day window to evaluate Evans in practices before deciding whether to add him back to the 53-man roster or stash him on IR for the remainder of the season. Assuming he incurs no setbacks upon returning to practice, the 2020 third-round pick could challenge Jeremy McNichols for the top change-of-pace role behind undisputed top back Derrick Henry as soon as Sunday in Jacksonville.

McFarland (undisclosed) returned to practice Wednesday, but he remains on injured reserve.

The Steelers have a 21-day period to add McFarland to their active roster. If he isn't added, he will revert back to IR for the remainder of the season. When he returns, McFarland will compete for the primary backup role behind three-down workhorse Najee Harris.

Ahmed rushed three times for one yard and secured both of his targets for 12 yards in Sunday's 27-17 loss to the Colts.

Ahmed played a limited role for the Dolphins on a day when the team struggled to establish the run and keep up with the Colts. Surprisingly, Ahmed recorded one more carry than Miami's presumed No. 1 running back Myles Gaskin, while Malcolm Brown handled the biggest share with eight rushing attempts. The running game in Miami is becoming an enigma, but Ahmed isn't yet seeing enough volume on the ground or through the air to be considered a valuable fantasy option. An injury to Gaskin or Brown would provide his best chance to find relevance. A matchup against the Buccaneers' stout run defense awaits Miami in Week 5.

Brightwell failed to record a single rush or target in Sunday's 27-21 win over the Saints.

The 2021 sixth-round pick did not see the field on offense and is currently the team's third-string running back behind Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker. With Barkley back to playing at an elite level, both Booker and Brightwell will find it difficult to see much playing time. However, if Barkley were to suffer another injury, the rookie could potentially find himself seeing meaningful touches. Until then, Brightwell remains well off the fantasy radar heading into a Week 5 matchup against the Cowboys.

Ozigbo signed a contract with the Saints on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Ozigbo joined Jacksonville's practice squad after being cut at the end of training camp, but he'll now make his way to New Orleans. The 25-year-old appeared in 18 games for the Jaguars between 2018 and 2019, totaling 10 carries for 28 yards and 12 catches for 65 yards. He'll step in as New Orleans' No. 3 tailback with Tony Jones (ankle) expected to be out the next few weeks.

Walter was signed to the Jets' practice squad Tuesday.

The 25-year-old was previously waived by the Jets in August. He appeared in four games with the 49ers in 2020, but he only registered one rushing attempt and caught one ball.

Jones (ankle) is in line to miss the next 3-4 weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Prior to getting carted off the field this past Sunday against the Giants, Jones experienced a decreasing share of the offensive snaps in each of the Saints' four games. On the season, he's turned 19 carries into 77 yards and caught four of six passes for 10 yards. New Orleans figures to sign a depth running back in short order to back up Alvin Kamara after working out Duke Johnson, Lamar Miller, Brian Hill, Ito Smith and Ryquell Armstead on Tuesday.

Rountree carried the ball 11 times for 31 yards in Monday's 28-14 win over the Raiders.

Rountree handled a number of critical carries in the second half as the Chargers attempted to salt away the game, but he looked as plodding as the porous 2.8 yards-per-carry would indicate. Part of that could simply be because the rookie was given a number of short-yardage attempts, but, in any case, the results weren't pretty. Rountree did out-snap backup Justin Jackson by a 22 to 11 margin, but it seems relatively clear the duo would essentially split the workload in the event Austin Ekeler were to miss time.

Funk played exclusively on special teams and didn't record any stats during Sunday's 37-20 loss to the Cardinals.

With Darrell Henderson inactive for Week 3, Funk saw 14 offensive snaps. However, with Henderson back in the mix for Week 4, the rookie was relegated to special-teams duties. The Maryland product is firmly supplanted behind both Sony Michel and Henderson on the depth chart and does not provide any immediate fantasy upside.