NFL Player News

The Saints are expected to elevate Jones from the practice squad for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Saints running backs Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray and Dwayne Washington are all in COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable in Week 17. In turn, Jones likely will make his NFL debut in Sunday's game. The Notre Dame product carried 144 times for 857 yards and six touchdowns in his final season at college. Ty Montgomery and Taysom Hill are both candidates to handle the backfield reps as well.

Murray was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday and is out for Sunday's game against the Panthers, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports.

Murray and Dwayne Washington are considered high-risk close contacts to Alvin Kamara, who tested positive for the coronavirus, so all three running backs will sit out Week 17. Ty Montgomery should see a significant increase in reps versus the Panthers. The Saints are also expected to promote running back Tony Jones from the practice squad, and Taysom Hill could see more tread as well. Murray will be available for the first round of playoffs as long as he continues to test negative.

Dallas (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio 950 KJR Seattle reports.

Dallas will miss a second straight game. Carlos Hyde (illness) is also questionable with flu-like symptoms. Chris Carson is set to lead the Seahawks' backfield in the season finale, and Rashaad Penny should serve as the No. 2 if Hyde is ultimately ruled out.

Bellamy (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Raiders.

Bellamy was contained to limited participation Wednesday and Thursday before submitting a full Friday session, meaning the undrafted rookie's status is trending positively for Week 17. The 24-year-old made just his fourth appearance of the season last Sunday in a loss to the Chargers after a knee injury had kept him on IR between Oct. 10 and Nov. 24. Having been subsequently waived, re-signed to the practice squad and promoted to the active roster, Bellamy got his first offensive opportunity against L.A. in Week 16, collecting 16 scrimmage yards on four touches.

Murray is expected to take on a larger role Sunday against the Panthers, with teammate Alvin Kamara ineligible to play after testing positive for COVID-19, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

Murray put up 307 total yards and four touchdowns in a two-week span the last time Kamara missed games, back in Weeks 7 and 8 of last season. A repeat of that level of production may be too much to ask, but Murray should at least see a nice workload uptick relative to his 2020 average of 9.7 carries, 1.7 targets and 55.4 total yards per game. Carolina has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs, including 204 combined yards and a touchdown to Kamara and Murray in Week 7. Ty Montgomery and Dwayne Washington are the other running backs on the Saints' roster, while undrafted rookie Tony Jones resides on the practice squad.

Scott is expected to lead the Philadelphia backfield Sunday against Washington, as teammate Miles Sanders has been ruled out with a knee injury.

Scott played 56, 69 and 66 percent of the offensive snaps in the three other games Sanders missed this season, averaging 12 carries for 50.3 yards and 2.3 catches for 24.7 yards, with his one touchdown being a game-winning reception Week 7 against the Giants. Scott now gets another chance to strut his stuff in a primetime game, though any of Corey Clement, Jason Huntley and Jordan Howard could also have a role in the game plan.

Kamara's eligibility for the wild-card round of the playoffs could depend on whether the Saints are scheduled to play Saturday (Jan. 9) or Sunday (Jan. 10), Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

With two of his tests for COVID-19 coming back positive, Kamara can't play in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Panthers. He won't be eligible to play in another game until 10 days after Dec. 31 -- when he initially tested positive -- and that's only if he remains asymptomatic and receives medical clearance. There's some chance the Saints won't even play in the first round of the playoffs, but it requires three games going in their favor to create a three-way tie at 12-4 atop the NFC.

Coach Pete Carroll said that Homer (knee) has an opportunity to return from injured reserve in the coming weeks, Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio 950 KJR Seattle reports.

While Homer won't be eligible for reactivation during the regular season given his Dec. 19 placement on IR, the 22-year-old would be able to suit up as soon as the wild-card round. He hasn't appeared in a game since Week 10. However, Seattle could use the extra depth at running back with Carlos Hyde (illness) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle) continuing to be beleaguered by health issues of their own.

Edmonds (hip) didn't practice Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Edmonds and wideout Larry Fitzgerald (groin) will be game-time decisions ahead of the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Neither logged any level of practice participation this week, but Edmonds suited up last week after managing only one limited session. He was then forced out after 16 snaps and two touches in the 20-12 loss to San Francisco, suffering a hip injury to add to the ankle and knee issues that put him on the injury report in the first place. D.J. Foster stepped in to play 17 snaps behind Kenyan Drake last week, finishing with one carry and no targets.

Akers (ankle) returned to practice Friday as a limited participant and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Akers suffered a high-ankle sprain Week 15 and didn't practice or play Week 16. He didn't seem likely to return for the regular-season finale, but the Rams are giving him a shot to suit up, after apparently being encouraged by what they saw Thursday during a workout and then Friday in a limited practice session. Fellow running back Darrell Henderson (ankle) is on injured reserve, so Malcolm Brown could be looking at a three-down role if Akers doesn't end up playing. The Rams are scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, needing a win or a Bears loss to reach the playoffs. Quarterback Jared Goff (thumb) and receiver Cooper Kupp (reserve/COVID-19 list) both will miss the game, and left tackle Andrew Whitworth (knee) isn't expected to return from IR until the playoffs.