NFL Player News

Penny injured his left calf during Sunday's game at Indianapolis.

Penny tended to a calf injury during Week 1 prep, logging limited showings Wednesday and Thursday before capping it with a full practice. But the injury resurfaced Sunday, which has been the story of his three-plus years in the league. Behind clear top back Chris Carson, the Seahawks have Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas at the ready for backfield reps.

Mostert (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Lions, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic.

This isn't a promising sign for the 49ers, as they're already quite thin in terms of depth at running back. Elijah Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty are expected to gain a bigger role if Mostert is unable to return to action in the contest, given that Trey Sermon is inactive Sunday.

Jamaal Williams was announced as the Lions' starting running back over Swift Sunday against the 49ers, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

It remains to be seen how this plays out, but the resulting box score/snaps counts will be worth monitoring to see how the Lions' RB backfield workload shakes out in Week 1. Swift -- who is bouncing back from a groin injury -- was not among Detroit's inactives Sunday.

The Lions introduced Williams as their starting running back for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Additionally, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network relays that Williams is expected to "carry the load" for the Lions in terms of both snaps and touches, even though D'Andre Swift is active for the contest. Because Swift recently overcame a groin injury, the Lions are likely just being cautious with him in Week 1, but he's eventually expected to serve as the team's top option out of the backfield once the injury is in the rear-view mirror. At least for the season opener, however, Williams should be in line for some added fantasy value while he takes on a heavier workload.

Kelley (coach's decision) is a healthy scratch for Week 1 against Washington, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County Register reports.

Kelley was in line to potentially garner active status for the opener, but he'll be in street clothes with Austin Ekeler (hamstring) available. Kelley made 14 appearances for Los Angeles last season but will have to wait to make his 2021 debut, and his next chance to do so will come in Week 2 at home against the Cowboys.

Hasty is one of three San Francisco running backs active for Sunday's season opener in Detroit, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

The fact that Hasty is dressing for Week 1 is probably less of a surprise than the fact that third-round rookie Trey Sermon is in street clothes, considering that Sermon had been operating as the No. 2 back for most of training camp and the preseason. It's unclear if Sermon's healthy scratch is specific to the 49ers' Week 1 game plan or something that will also carry over to future contests, but regardless, Hasty and sixth-round rookie Elijah Mitchell will be on hand as the reserve options behind Raheem Mostert for the opener. While Mostert is expected to dominate the snaps and touches among the San Francisco backs, Hasty and Mitchell are both expected to see some involvement on offense, especially if the game turns non-competitive in the second half. As an undrafted rookie last season, Hasty appeared in eight games and averaged 3.8 yards per carry and scored a touchdown on 39 totes.

Mitchell is one of three running backs active Sunday for San Francisco's season opener in Detroit, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

The fact that Mitchell, a rookie sixth-round pick, is dressing for Week 1 is probably less of a surprise than the fact that third-round rookie Trey Sermon is in street clothes, considering that Sermon had been operating as the No. 2 back for most of training camp and the preseason. It's unclear if Sermon's healthy scratch is specific to the 49ers' Week 1 game plan or something that will carry over to future contests, but regardless, Mitchell and JaMycal Hasty will be on hand as the reserve options behind Raheem Mostert in the opener. While Mostert is expected to dominate the snaps and touches among the San Francisco backs, Mitchell and Hasty are both expected to see some involvement on offense, especially if the game turns non-competitive in the second half.

Jefferson (coach's decision) is inactive for the Lions' season opener Sunday versus the 49ers, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The rookie seventh-round pick will have to wait at least one week to make his NFL debut after the Lions elected to keep D'Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams and Godwin Igwebuike as their active running backs for Week 1. While Jefferson is more likely than Igwebuike to see snaps and touches on offense if one of Swift or Williams misses time this season, Igwebuike -- who contributes on special teams -- may end up dressing more frequently than Jefferson when all four backs are available.

Perine (foot) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Randy Lange of the Jets' official site reports.

Even though Perine finished the week as a full practice participant, the Jets opted to make him one of the two running backs inactive for the contest, with Josh Adams (coach's decision) joining him in street clothes. Perine is listed behind all of Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson and Michael Carter on the Jets' unofficial depth chart, so even if he hadn't been nursing the foot injury, it's unclear if Perine would have suited up Sunday. With that in mind, Perine's status will be worth tracking heading into the Week 2 matchup with the Patriots, assuming he approaches that game without an injury designation.

Benjamin (coach's decision) is listed as inactive Sunday in Tennessee.

A 2020 seventh-round pick, Benjamin will replicate his standing from his rookie season, when he was a healthy scratch on a weekly basis. With Benjamin in street clothes, Jonathan Ward is the third running back for the Cardinals, but he'll be relegated to special-teams work behind the team's top two RBs, Chase Edmonds and James Conner.