NFL Player News

Moss will be inactive for Sunday's opener against the Steelers,

This will be one of the bigger surprises for Week 1. Moss did have offseason ankle surgery, but he was well up to speed early in training camp and played in the preseason. Either he had some kind of injury crop up very late in the week, he broke some kind of team rule, or coach Sean McDermott simply feels he's not fully all the way back and Matt Breida would be a more reliable short-term backup for starter Devin Singletary. This will be an interesting story to follow for those trying to guess which Bills RB will get the most opportunities stemming from the high-flying Buffalo passing game. The current listing for Moss is "healthy scratch," though we're sure there's more to follow on his situation.

Barkley (knee) is on track to play Sunday against the Broncos despite being listed as questionable for the contest, but the running back is expected to be "eased in and used sparingly" in his 2021 debut, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After sustaining a torn ACL, mild MCL tear and partial meniscus tear to his right knee Week 2 of last season and subsequently undergoing surgery, Barkley has received full medical clearance just over 11 months later, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. While Barkley is thus on track to avoid the inactive list in the 2021 season opener, the Giants seemingly aren't planning on him handling his usual bell-cow role for at least his first game back. How extensively Barkley is used may ultimately come down to game flow and how he looks in his initial snaps early in the contest, but the wide range for his projected Week 1 workload makes him less of a slam-dunk lineup option than usual in season-long leagues, particularly in shallower formats where fantasy managers may have more appealing alternatives on hand.

Ekeler (hamstring) is on track to suit up Sunday against Washington, barring any pregame setbacks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Though Ekeler missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, he looked good in his return Friday and is trending toward being able to go in Week 1. Confirmation of the status of the Chargers' top back will arrive before the first wave of games Sunday, with the team kicking off at 1:00 ET.

Barkley (knee) has been medically cleared and is expected to play Sunday against the Broncos, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

Barkley was a question mark heading into Week 1 prep, and he proceeded to log limited practices Wednesday through Friday before being deemed questionable for the opener. Coach Joe Judge relayed Friday that Barkley would suit up Sunday if he came out of Friday's session without setbacks, per Raanan. Barkley appears to have done just that, but the Giants have yet to make a formal announcement about his status. There's a chance the decision won't be made until 90 minutes before Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff, but the running back is poised to get back on the field for the first time since Week 2 of last season (Sept. 20, 2020).

Jacobs (toe) wasn't listed on the team's final injury report ahead of Monday's contest against the Ravens, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Despite logging his third straight limited practice, Jacobs will nevertheless enter Week 1 deemed completely healthy. It wouldn't be surprising if the 2019 first-round pick routinely has a similar sort of practice cadence in ensuing weeks to maintain health for the balky toe injury, which he suffered toward the end of August.

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.