NFL Player News

Williams could be a healthy inactive Sunday against the Broncos after the team called up Le'Veon Bell from the practice squad, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athleticreports.

It's highly unlikely the Ravens keep four running backs active Sunday, and while Zrebiec suggested Devonta Freeman seems like the first choice to sit, offensive coordinator Greg Roman didn't exactly give a ringing endorsement of Williams in post-game reports last week. The muddled depth chart is certainly a complicating issue for fantasy managers given Latavius Murray has continued to siphon off carries (seven for 28 last week), and it doesn't appear things will get any easier against a capable Broncos run defense.

Jacobs (ankle) is listed as questionable for Monday's contest against the Chargers and likely will be a game-time decision, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reports.

Jacobs was spotted participating in Saturday's practice, but the Raiders understandably have been cautious with the 2019 first-round pick, holding him out both of the last two games. According to coach Jon Gruden, Jacobs will be put through a pre-game gauntlet to determine his status ahead of the divisional contest. While the team spent lavishly on the acquisition of Kenyan Drake this offseason, it's been veteran castoff Peyton Barber who has taken on a heavy workload with Jacobs sidelined, logging a 23-111-1 rushing line in last week's win over the Dolphins. Expect to see another heavy dose of Barber in the event Jacobs is sidelined Monday.

Penny (calf) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.

It's probably not good news that Penny was placed on injured reserve after multiple weeks missed due to a calf injury. The 2018 first-round pick reportedly had a great training camp and was pushing for a crucial backup role behind Chris Carson, but that'll be put on hold for now. Penny has played in just 14 of the last 35 games due to a variety of injuries.

Gibson (shin), who is listed as questionable, traveled with the team ahead of Sunday's game against the Falcons, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

Perhaps more crucially, Washington chose not to elevate anyone from the practice squad, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, which would also indicate Gibson will be available for what figures to be a juicy matchup against the vulnerable Falcons defense. Fantasy managers will want to check his status ahead of Sunday's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff for confirmation, but at least as of now, Gibson's playing-time status appears to be trending in the right direction.

Vaughn is expected to be active for the Buccaneers' Week 4 matchup with the Patriots, Scott Smith of the team's official website reports.

With Giovani Bernard (knee) sidelined, Vaughn is expected to back up Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones as the Bucs' No. 3 running back. He saw his first time on the field in Week 3 but only on special teams. Bernard primarily saw action as the team's third-down back, so it remains to be seen if Vaughn will see any snaps in those situations.

Benjamin (hamstring) will not play in the Cardinals' Week 4 matchup with the Rams, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Benjamin has yet to make his season debut, as he has been a healthy scratch through the first three weeks of the season. He will now miss his fourth straight game, but this time with a hamstring issue. When healthy, he will continue to wait for an opportunity to provide depth at running back.

Boone (quadriceps) has the possibility to suit up Sunday, but coach Vic Fangio noted that the team "may wait another week on him," Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

Boone practiced with the team this week, but he has yet to be promoted to the active roster. If the veteran running back does make his return to the field in Week 4 against the Ravens, it is safe to assume that he won't have a prominent role in the team's gameplan outside of handling a few carries and potentially contributing on special teams. Boone was having a solid training camp before suffering a quadriceps injury, but with Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams running effectively in the Denver offense, it remains unclear if Boone will have any path to consistent production. The 26-year-old would be someone for fantasy managers to consider if either Gordon or Williams were to be sidelined with an injury, as this would be Boone's best bet for anything close to fantasy relevance.

Jacobs (ankle) remained limited at practice Friday.

Jacobs, who missed the Raiders' last two games, is making progress having logged back-to-back limited practice sessions, but coach Jon Gruden indicated Thursday that the running back is viewed as questionable for Monday night's game against the Chargers. Saturday's final injury report will confirm whether that is indeed Jacobs' Week 4 designation, but if he's limited or out versus Los Angeles, Peyton Barber -- who logged a 23/111/1 rushing line and caught three passes in a Week 3 win over Miami -- would once again be in line for added work in tandem with Kenyan Drake.

Gordon (ribs/lower leg) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Ravens after being limited in practice this past week, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.

Ryan O'Halloran of The Denver Post previously indicated that Gordon's pair of listed injury issues aren't expected to prevent him from playing in Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Assuming he's a go this weekend, Gordon would be in line to continue to work in a backfield timeshare with rookie Javonte Williams, with Mike Boone (quadriceps) potentially a candidate to come off IR and work in a reserve role behind the team's top RB duo.

Mitchell (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Seattle, with coach Kyle Shanahan suggesting the running back's availability could come down to pain tolerance, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Shanahan said he doesn't doubt Mitchell's pain tolerance and would consider it "pretty impressive" if the rookie ends up playing, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports. That might be nice for Mitchell to hear, but for fantasy managers it's a sign that the running back could be limited or ineffective even if he's able to suit up. With Mitchell out last week, Trey Sermon took a team-high 10 carries for 31 yards and a touchdown while playing 59 percent of snaps on offense, often giving way to FB Kyle Juszczyk in passing situations. It also is possible that the Niners find a role for Trenton Cannon or Jacques Patrick if Mitchell ends up inactive ahead of Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. Shanahan's comments Friday suggest Mitchell will be treated as a game-time decision -- even if the team isn't optimistic -- after the running back was a limited practice participant Wednesday through Friday.