NFL Player News

The Giants list Barkley (knee) as questionable for Thursday's game at Washington, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Barkley went down as a limited practice participant Monday through Wednesday, after getting 10 carries and three targets on a 48 percent snap share in Sunday's loss to Denver. Head coach Joe Judge said the running back will increase his workload as the season moves along, but a short week might not be the time for him to return to an every-down role. Between that and the difficult matchup against Washington's defense, Barkley is at least one more week away from reclaiming his familiar status as a locked-in RB1. Still, he's startable in most formats, assuming he's not on the inactive list ahead of Thursday's 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff. The Giants have two starters ruled out -- tight end Evan Engram (calf) and left guard Shane Lemieux (knee) -- while Washington has a healthy defense but no Ryan Fitzpatrick (hip) or Curtis Samuel (groin), who are both on injured reserve.

Evans didn't record an offensive snap during Sunday's 27-24 win over the Vikings.

Evans earned a roster spot by beating out Trayveon Williams for the third running back job, but after Week 1, it is clear that he won't be part of the offensive plan, unless Joe Mixon or Samaje Perine are sidelined. The Bengals' run game totaled 34 rushes for 149 yards with Mixon playing 78 percent of the snaps against the Vikings.

Snell logged 19 special-teams snaps during Sunday's 23-16 win over the Bills.

Snell failed to see any snaps on offense, as rookie running back Najee Harris was on the field for 100 percent of the team's plays. Though Snell currently sits second on the depth chart, Harris' three-down skill set will likely make it hard for the veteran to see enough action to maintain fantasy relevance.

Funk logged 11 snaps on special teams during Sunday's 34-14 win over the Bears.

Funk failed to see any snaps on offense, as fellow running backs Darrell Henderson and Sony Michel carried the load. Henderson totaled 16 carries while Michel logged just one carry. As the No. 3 running back on the team, Funk will likely have difficulty finding consistent opportunities on offense. It's hard to imagine a path to fantasy relevance for the 5-foot-10, 203-pound rookie if both Henderson and Michel can stay healthy. The Rams are set to take on the Colts in Week 2.

Brightwell caught his lone target for six yards in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Broncos.

Brightwell did not record a single carry in the contest while operating as the team's No. 3 running back. The rookie played eight of a total 61 offensive snaps as the Giants struggled to get much of anything going on offense. Brightwell is not a trustworthy option for fantasy managers as long as both Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker are healthy. Next up for the Giants is a Thursday night tilt against Washington to kick of Week 2.

Freeman did not play an offensive snap in Sunday's 19-14 win over the Jets.

Freeman has only been with the Panthers for just over a week, so he was restricted to special-teams duty, playing four snaps overall. With superstar Christian McCaffrey leading the charge, Carolina rarely calls upon its backup tailbacks, and rookie fourth-rounder Chuba Hubbard currently sits atop Freeman on the depth chart anyway. Unless either of those factors change, Freeman's fantasy value should remain limited.

McKinnon tallied just four offensive snaps and didn't record a run during Saturday's game against the Browns.

McKinnon was brought in as depth at running back and is an excellent pass-catching option out of the backfield. However, both Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams also perform well as receivers, leaving McKinnon on the outside looking for most of the snaps. He's unlikely to see the field much as long as both remain available.

Williams rushed once for four yards in the opener versus the Browns.

Williams saw the field for just 14 offensive snaps, which is good for 22 percent on the day. He's still the clear No. 2 behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire, with Jerick McKinnon only logging four snaps to rank third at the position. Even so, Williams' fantasy value remains extremely limited as long as Edwards-Helaire remains available.

Mostert (knee) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

San Francisco officially removed Mostert from its 53-man roster a few hours after the running back announced he would undergo season-ending surgery to address the cartilage damage in his knee he sustained Sunday. Mostert expects to be back to 100 percent health for the start of the 2022 campaign, but he could be suiting up for a different team, as he'll become a free agent during the upcoming spring. Meanwhile, the 49ers are expected to give Elijah Mitchell the first crack at the No. 1 role out of the backfield, with Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty on hand in complementary roles. Additionally, San Francisco signed veteran Kerryon Johnson to its practice squad Tuesday, and he could eventually factor into the backfield equation.

Mostert announced Tuesday via his personal Twitter account that he will undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Though 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan estimated Monday that Mostert would require an arthroscopic procedure and miss about eight weeks after sustaining chipped cartilage in his knee in the team's season-opening win over the Lions, the running back is instead electing to undergo what's believed to be a full meniscus repair, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. While the surgery will necessitate a longer recovery timeline, Mostert should have a brighter long-term health outlook than if he had returned in the second half of the season and continued to play through the knee issue. Expect the 49ers to officially place Mostert on season-ending injured reserve later this week, paving the way for Elijah Mitchell, Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty to lead the ground game.