NFL Player News

Carter recorded 10 rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's loss to the Falcons. He added three receptions for 20 yards.

Carter accounted for 10 of the team's 18 rushing attempts, more than doubling the marks of both Ty Johnson and Tevin Coleman. He wasn't particularly effective, as his longest rush went for only nine yards. However, he did plunge into the end zone for a two-yard score midway through the fourth quarter. Carter also supplemented his performance with a career-best three receptions. Though the performance wasn't overly impressive, Carter continues to operate as the team's top back heading into a Week 6 bye.

Patterson, who was evaluated for a head injury early in Sunday's game but was cleared, recorded 14 rushes for 54 yards in the win over the Jets. He added seven receptions on nine targets for 60 yards.

Patterson doubled his previous high in rushing attempts on the season and narrowly outpaced Mike Davis in both yards and attempts. Patterson also took advantage of several pass catchers being absent -- most notably, Calvin Ridley (personal) -- to rack up a season-high seven receptions. Though competition for volume was reduced in this contest, it's clear that Patterson has solidified a significant role in the Falcons offense as both a receiver and rusher. He and the team head into a Week 6 bye and will retake the field in Week 7 against Miami.

The Broncos didn't activate Boone (quadriceps) from injured reserve Saturday, making him ineligible to play Sunday against the Steelers, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic reports.

Head coach Vic Fangio teased a potential Boone return Sunday while the running back practiced for a second straight week, but the Broncos will ultimately keep him off the 53-man roster for a little longer. Since Boone's 21-day evaluation window opened Sept. 29, Denver will have to activate him by Oct. 20, or shut him down for the season. While Boone is idle for at least one more game, Damarea Crockett will serve as the No. 3 back behind Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams.

Washington was working with the second-team offense during warmups ahead of Sunday's game in Washington and is expected to serve as the No. 2 back behind Alvin Kamara, John Hendrix of SI.com reports.

Washington will bump up a spot on the depth chart after Kamara's previous top understudy, Tony Jones (ankle), was moved to injured reserve Wednesday. Since joining New Orleans in 2018, Washington has been deployed almost exclusively on special teams, logging only 79 offensive snaps across three-plus seasons. Even with Jones out of the mix, expect Washington to handle a light role on offense, most likely just subbing in when Kamara requires a breather.

Hubbard will pick up a second straight start at running back Sunday against the Eagles with Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) inactive for the contest, Zach Berman of The Athletic reports.

The starting assignment was fully expected for Hubbard after McCaffrey took a doubtful designation into the weekend following limited practices Wednesday through Friday. While McCaffrey was sidelined for the Week 4 loss to Dallas, Hubbard paced the backfield with 13 carries for 57 yards, but he was limited to two catches for 14 yards on two targets in the passing game, as Carolina leaned on Rodney Smith as its primary third-down back. As such, a true three-down role may not await Hubbard on Sunday, but he still looks like a strong fantasy option as the lead runner for a Carolina squad that will be facing the NFL's 31st-ranked run defense.

Stevenson is active for Sunday's game against the Texans.

Stevenson will draw back into the lineup for the first time since Week 1, while J.J. Taylor is inactive. Look for Stevenson to mix in behind top back Damien Harris and change-of-pace option Brandon Bolden, but until the 2021 fourth-rounder logs steady playing time, he'll profile as a speculative fantasy option.

Perine will potentially have to share the backfield with Joe Mixon (ankle) on Sunday against the Packers, as Mixon is active for the contest.

Perine was at one point thought to have a larger role in Week 5, as Mixon suffered an ankle injury last week against Jacksonville and didn't log a single practice as a result. That ultimately won't prevent Mixon from taking the field, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network did note early Sunday morning that the team's typical RB1 "won't be at 100 percent." Perine has yet to see more than 24 percent of the snap share in any single game this season, but that could be headed for an increase Sunday if there's any truth to Rapoport's assertion.

Taylor is inactive for Sunday's game against the Texans.

With Taylor not in the mix Sunday, Brandon Bolden figures to handle the bulk of the Patriots' Week 5 change-of-pace looks behind lead back Damien Harris, with Rhamondre Stevenson also a candidate to mix in.

Mattison will be the Vikings' lead running back Sunday versus the Lions with Dalvin Cook (ankle) inactive, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

This will mark Mattison's second spot start of the campaign in place of Cook. In Week 3, Mattison was a workhorse against the Seahawks, turning 26 carries into 112 yards and six catches (on eight targets) into 59 yards. He has a good matchup on tap in which to produce this time around, too, as Detroit's defense has given up 134.8 yards from scrimmage per game and nine total TDs to running backs in four contests this season.

Gordon (lower leg) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Steelers.

With Gordon active, as expected, he'll continue to split work with rookie Javonte Williams, an arrangement that has yielded 51 carries and 11 passing targets for Gordon and 46 carries and nine targets for Williams through Denver's first four contests. While a timeshare is never optimal for fantasy purposes, Gordon has maintained a degree of lineup utility by averaging 62.0 rushing yards per game with two TDs as well as an average of 21.8 yards via the air thus far.