NFL Player News

Murray rushed four times for six yards and caught both his targets for four yards in Monday night's 23-21 preseason win over the Jaguars.

Murray saw Tony Jones get touches before him and finish with a superior line of five carries for 24 yards, adding further fuel to his quest to surpass Murray and serve as Alvin Kamara's backup. While that determination is yet to be made, it's also worth noting Murray saw action before Devonta Freeman entered in the second half. The fellow veteran managed just 18 yards on his seven totes, so it'll be interesting to see how New Orleans' backfield situation shakes out as the team now enters the final week of the preseason.

Robinson rushed five times for 13 yards in Monday night's 23-21 preseason loss to the Saints.

Robinson once again started at tailback, and although he wasn't particularly productive, neither were Carlos Hyde or Travis Etienne. In fact, Etienne was forced out with a foot injury, raising some uncertainty over his status at the moment. As things stand, Robinson appears to be in a decent position to be named Jacksonville's starter, but the Jags' backfield situation could be one to monitor until the pecking order is established.

Mattison did not practice Monday due to an undisclosed injury, Chad Graff of The Athletic reports.

Mattison played just two plays in Saturday's preseason game, but no injury was reported after the game. With Kene Nwangwu (knee) and Mattison hurt, the Vikings signed Ito Smith on Monday to help with depth.

Etienne is questionable to return to Monday's preseason game at New Orleans due to a foot injury.

During the second quarter, Etienne was looked at by the Jaguars' training staff in the sideline tent, but afterward the rookie first-round pick was able to walk on the leg in question, per Hays Carlyon of 1010 AM WJXL Jacksonville. With the contest closing in on halftime at the time of the injury announcement, Etienne likely will remain on the sideline until the clock hits zero. If so, he'll end preseason Week 2 with one carry for one yard and one catch (on one target) for three yards.

Jones is still slated to share primary ballcarrier duties with Leonard Fournette to open the season and is likely to yield most third downs to offseason acquisition Giovani Bernard, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

If a true timeshare arrangement consistently holds true in the Buccaneers backfield, the fantasy value of both Fournette and Jones naturally will be capped to an extent. However, head coach Bruce Arians previously has touted both and carried out a hot-hand approach to the ground attack, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that each player will have his share of 15-to-25 carry days this coming season, for example. What does seem like more of a certainty for Jones is the likelihood he's often off the field on third-down passing scenarios, considering his blocking has never been a strong suit and Bernard is a more accomplished receiver out of the backfield.

McCaffrey may get on the field during Friday's preseason game against the Steelers, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports. "He'll be very, very limited as he's been pretty much every preseason," coach Matt Rhule said Monday.

There's really no need for the Panthers to chance it with their top skill-position player, who made just three appearances last season due to ankle, shoulder and knee injuries. McCaffrey declared that he was 100 percent during the offseason program, but the team so far has kept him shuttered through two exhibitions. But if McCaffrey gets the all-clear to play Friday, Rhule's comment that the running back would be "very, very limited" implies he likely wouldn't see more than one series. Since breaking out in 2018, McCaffrey has averaged 135.2 yards from scrimmage per game and scored 38 TDs in 35 contests, making him one of the premium fantasy options out there.

Leake was waived by the Lions on Monday.

Leake spent last season on Washington's practice squad, and he'll hope to earn a practice squad role somewhere again in 2021, as the 23-year-old running back is unlikely to make a roster at this point.

Kamara isn't expected to play in Monday's preseason game against the Jaguars, John Hendrix of SI.com reports.

Coach Sean Payton revealed late last week that certain unnamed starters who didn't play in the exhibition opener would make an appearance in preseason Week 2. Kamara was among those players, but because he isn't suited up in pregame warmups he doesn't seem like a candidate to take the field Monday. Payton is on the brink of revealing the Saints' starting quarterback for Week 1, and when that decision is made a key skill player like Kamara likely won't risk getting nicked up in the preseason finale Saturday versus the Cardinals.

Swift (groin) seemed to be moving well during Monday's practice and is on track to be ready for Week 1, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

The Lions had a light practice Monday, and Swift reportedly caught a few passes during 1-on-1 drills. While the running back probably won't see any preseason snaps for the third week in a row when Detroit takes on Indianapolis on Friday, there doesn't seem to be any concern over Swift's availability for the regular-season opener.

Barkley (knee) appears on track to do more in practice this week than he did last week, but coach Joe Judge isn't ready to outline exactly how much work and in which drills the running back will participate, Darryl Slater of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

With Barkley's participation level in this week's joint practices with the Patriots TBD, it seems improbable that he'll see any action in the Giants' preseason finale Sunday. The larger question that lingers is whether Barkley will be deemed fit by the team to suit up Week 1, and if so what his role in the offense might be at that stage.