NFL Player News

Vaughn (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's Week 2 tilt against the Falcons.

The second-year back will be in street clothes for the second straight game to open the season. The trio of Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones and Giovani Bernard will once again be entrusted to handle the Buccaneers' backfield duties.

Benjamin (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's contest versus the Vikings, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

As he was as a rookie in 2020 and in Week 1 last Sunday, Benjamin is a healthy scratch for Arizona. The 2020 seventh-round pick thus will be in street clothes while Chase Edmonds and James Conner split work out of the backfield, and Jonathan Ward handles his customary role on special teams.

Perine (coach's decision) is listed as inactive ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Patriots.

Perine was inactive due to a foot injury during Week 1, but he is a healthy scratch ahead of Week 2. The Jets will rely on Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson and Michael Carter against the Patriots on Sunday.

Moss will make his 2021 debut for the Bills this week against Miami, Matthew Bove of WKBW reports.

In one of the bigger Week 1 fantasy surprises, Moss was a healthy scratch in favor of Devin Singletary and Matt Breida, with Singletary getting the majority of the touches and targets. Moss has managed to avoid the inactive list this week, though his usage still remains a question mark since there hasn't been much chatter coming out of Buffalo on the matter.

Hasty is active alongside rookies Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon for Sunday's contest at Philadelphia.

With Raheem Mostert out for the season due to a knee injury suffered Week 1, Hasty likely will be the 49ers' No. 2 RB moving forward behind the expected lead ballcarrier Mitchell. After Mostert went down last Sunday in Detroit, Mitchell took over and had 19 carries for 104 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, Hasty received complementary work en route to two touches for 18 yards and one TD. Sermon, a 2021 third-round pick, will be available for the first game action of his career, but it remains to be seen how he'll mix in behind Mitchell and Hasty.

Sermon is active for Sunday's game in Philadelphia.

After Sermon was a surprise healthy scratch Week 1, he'll be available to the 49ers backfield Sunday. That said, Elijah Mitchell is expected to be the lead runner in the wake of Raheem Mostert's season-ending knee injury. In the team's season opener at Detroit, Mitchell turned 19 carries into 104 yards and one touchdown, while JaMycal Hasty had two touches for 18 yards and a TD himself. As a result, Sermon may not be available for more than a handful of snaps in the first potential game action of his career.

Taylor is active for Sunday's game against the Jets.

With Taylor active Sunday, 2021 fourth-rounder Rhamondre Stevenson is the odd man out, while Damien Harris is in line to serve as the Patriots' lead back, with James White handling change-of-pace duties. In that context, Taylor figures to mix in versus the Jets, but he's a speculative fantasy play as long as both Harris and White are available.

Stevenson is is inactive for Sunday's game against the Jets.

With Stevenson, who logged just one carry and a fumble in the Patriots' season opener, the odd man out in Week 2, J.J. Taylor - who was inactive last weekend - will draw into the team's lineup and work in a complementary role versus the Jets. Meanwhile, Damien Harris is in line to serve as New England's lead back and James White will handle pass-catching/change-of-pace duties.

Mitchell is expected to head the 49ers backfield Sunday in Philadelphia, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Mitchell stepped in for an injured Raheem Mostert in Week 1 at Detroit and ripped off 104 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. With Mostert on the shelf for the rest of the season following knee surgery, Mitchell has assumed the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, but he'll have to contend with JaMycal Hasty and third-round rookie Trey Sermon, the latter of whom was inactive last Sunday. Mitchell himself was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, so his sudden rise seemingly has him on pace to be featured in coach Kyle Shanahan's scheme.

Murray, Ty'Son Williams and Devonta Freeman are all expected to be involved in a backfield committee Sunday against the Chiefs, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

In the Week 1 loss to the Raiders, Williams started and was the most efficient back with nine carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, but he took a back seat in the second half to Murray, who finished his Ravens debut with 10 carries for 28 yards and a touchdown while playing 31 percent of the offensive snaps. The Baltimore backfield looks like it'll become more muddled in Week 2 with the addition of Freeman, who profiles as more of a threat to contend for reps on offense than the since-waived Trenton Cannon. With that in mind, Rapoport suggests that the Ravens may opt for a hot-hand approach to the backfield, making it difficult to handicap the potential workloads for any of the three backs ahead of time.