NFL Player News

Abdullah was elevated to the Vikings' active roster Saturday, independent NFL journalist Aaron Wilson reports.

The Vikings previously had just two active running backs on the roster in form of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, so this move makes complete sense. The veteran castoff has been primarily a special teams player over the past two seasons, accumulating over 500 snaps combined since 2019.

Jones carried four times for 14 yards and lost a fumble in the Buccaneers' 31-29 win over the Cowboys on Thursday night.

Jones lost the handle on a run off right tackle midway through the second quarter on a hit from the Cowboys' DeMarcus Lawrence, a turnover that ended up leading to a touchdown for Dallas five plays later. Greg Auman of The Athletic relays that head coach Bruce Arians confirmed Jones "struggled mentally to get over [the turnover]," which led to Leonard Fournette handling the rushing workload the remainder of the night for Tampa Bay. Despite the season-opening setback, Jones remains a key component of the Buccaneers' ground attack and will look to get back on track in Week 2 against the Falcons.

Edmonds enters the 2021 season as the No. 1 running back on the Cardinals' depth chart.

In the one preseason game in which Edmonds and offseason acquisition James Conner played together in August, Edmonds earned seven snaps on offense to the latter's six. Neither was targeted, while Edmonds had one three-yard carry to Conner's two rushes for one yard. Not much was learned about the potential breakdown of backfield reps between the two for the regular season, but coach Kliff Kingsbury has since told Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site, "We see it as 1A and 1B, either one can come in and start games for us and get the lion's share of the touches." That's not exactly great news to hear from a fantasy perspective, but Edmonds' experience under Kingsbury and Conner's voluminous medical chart may allow the former to be the main RB more weeks than not in Arizona.

The Colts have signed Hines to a three-year, $18.6 million extension, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

That's quite a nice payout for the versatile playmaker, who's listed as Indy's No . 2 back behind Jonathan Taylor on the team's posted depth chart. Marlon Mack and Jordan Wilkins also are in the Colts' backfield mix, but given the investment made in Hines, it's clear that the 5-foot-9, 196-pounder is viewed as a key cog in the squad's 2021 offense. While Taylor is in line to handle the bulk of the early-down work, Hines should log enough complementary carries and passing targets to merit flex/PPR consideration in fantasy lineups.

Jacobs (toe) practiced in a limited capacity Friday, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

After the session, Jacobs relayed to Gutierrez, "I feel good. I did everything today. I feel good to go." Jacobs missed practice earlier this week due to a toe issue, but since the Raiders have been required to post injury reports he's been an active participant in drills, albeit with a cap on his reps. He noted Friday that he may see maintenance days moving forward, but the current concern doesn't appear as if it'll impact his availability for game action.

Coach Brandon Staley noted Friday that he's optimistic Ekeler (hamstring) will play in Sunday's season opener against Washington, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Ekeler's return to practice in a limited fashion Friday initially offered hope that he'd have a chance to suit up this weekend after not practicing Wednesday or Thursday. Now things are looking up even more, after Staley relayed that the running back "looked good out there" during the team's final practice session of the week. With that, Ekeler appears to be heading in the right direction as Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff approaches.

Perine (foot) practiced fully Friday but still is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

Perine's full participation in Friday's practice suggests he's trending in the right direction, but the second-year running back was unable to shed his injury label. While Perine opens the season fourth on the Jets' backfield depth chart, New York's pecking order at running back remains fluid due to the lack of an established No. 1 option.

Penny (calf) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, John Boyle of the Seahawks' official site reports.

The Seahawks enter Sunday with five healthy running backs, though at least one presumably will be placed on the inactive list. Chris Carson figures to get the start and most of the carries, but Penny could be the second man up, at least for early downs. The other options are Alex Collins, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas.

Ekeler (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's season opener against Washington after returning to a limited practice Friday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

We'll look for added context with regard to Ekeler's Week 1 status leading up to the contest, but fortunately for those considering the running back in fantasy lineups, the Chargers kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday. In the event that he's limited or out this weekend, Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree are next up for the team's backfield touches.

Ekeler (hamstring) participated in the media-access portion of Friday's practice, Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County Register reports.

Ekeler logged back-to-back DNPs to start the week, so his presence on the field Friday is encouraging. The Chargers' final Week 1 injury report will reveal the running back's participation level as well what, if any, injury designation he will carry into Sunday's season opener against Washington.