NFL Player News

Drake (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Miami, Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' official site reports.

This was a foregone conclusion even after a bye week, but it does seem Drake's ankle injury is not quite as bad as it initially looked. While he wasn't able to practice this week, the Cardinals seemingly think he has a shot to make it back for Week 10 against Buffalo or Week 11 at Seattle (the latter being a Thursday game). In the meantime, Chase Edmonds will fill in as Arizona's lead back, while coach Kliff Kingsbury hinted at DJ Foster - who is currently on the practices squad - serving as the backup Sunday, per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site. The team also has Eno Benjamin and Jonathan Ward as backfield options, but Kingsbury may have determined the rookies aren't quite ready to play.

Breida (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Breida's injury popped up at an inopportune time, as he may have gotten a chance to lead Miami's backfield if healthy. Instead, with Myles Gaskin (knee) on injured reserve, the Dolphins will roll with a combination of Jordan Howard, Patrick Laird and Salvon Ahmed in Arizona. Considering Breida didn't practice in any fashion Wednesday through Friday, he could also be in danger of missing the Dolphins' Week 10 game against the Chargers.

Jacobs (knee/illness) returned to practice Friday, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reports.

Jacobs was withheld from Thursday's session, but he looks poised to log at least limited activity in the Raiders' final Week 9 practice. The extent of Jacobs' involvement in practice will be revealed later Friday, at which time it will also be known whether he'll carry a designation into Sunday's game against the Chargers. Jacobs is coming off his biggest workload of the season, carrying 31 times for 129 yards in the Raiders' Week 8 win over the Browns after windy conditions prompted head coach Jon Gruden to largely eschew the passing game.

Taylor (illness) is not practicing Friday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Taylor, who has been a healthy scratch for New England since Week 3, has now missed back-to-back practices due to illness. Even if he's able to retake the practice field prior to Monday's game against the Jets, it seems probable that Taylor will once again be left out of the main offensive gameplan.

Ozigbo (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Texans, John Oehser of the Jaguars" official site reports.

Ozigbo's absence comes as no surprise considering he hasn't been able to practice since promptly re-injuring the same hamstring that forced him to miss the season's first six games. Considering he seems to have returned too early from his original injury, Ozigbo will likely take extra precautions to make sure his hamstring fully heals this time before he sees the field again.

Coach Matt Rhule said he expects McCaffrey (ankle) to play in Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Myles Simmons of the Panthers' official site reports.

Rhule made a similar comment earlier in the week and reinforced it after Friday's practice. He wasn't willing to elaborate on expectations for McCaffrey's role, but the star running back should at least get activated from injured reserve before Sunday. Given that he's been practicing for more than a week now, it isn't out of the question that McCaffrey could see his usual 20-plus touches in his first game back from a high ankle sprain. If the Panthers have any reservations about having McCaffrey reclaim his normal allotment of snaps and touches right away, backup Mike Davis should be able to help him shoulder the load after proving himself capable as both a runner and pass catcher over the past six games.

McCaffrey (ankle) practiced again Friday and appears on track to play in Sunday's game against the Chiefs, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

McCaffrey returned to practice last week, but he wasn't quite able to make it back for a Thursday night game against Atlanta. Ten days later, McCaffrey now looks ready to play, though his availability for Week 9 won't be confirmed until the Panthers officially activate him from injured reserve. While Mike Davis could still see some backfield work, McCaffrey is the much better bet to pile up carries, targets, yards and touchdowns.

Pollard could have an increased workload Sunday against the Steelers if Ezekiel Elliott (hamstring) has trouble in his pregame workout, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Elliott has been limited at practice all week, creating some question about his availability Sunday. Though the Cowboys still anticipate Elliott playing Week 9, he could see a reduction in his snap and touch counts while he manages the hamstring injury. If that's the case, Pollard would likely see his role in the Dallas offense grow. Pollard set season highs in rushing yards (40) and receiving yards (24) during last week's loss to the Eagles.

Elliott (hamstring) was more limited than expected at practice Thursday, but coach Mike McCarthy said the running back was feeling better Friday, Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The extent of Elliott's participation in Friday's practice won't be known until the Cowboys issue their final Week 9 injury report later in the day, but he appears likely to be listed as limited once again. McCarthy also said Elliott will go through pregame work Sunday to determine his final availability for the Cowboys' matchup with the Steelers, so the 25-year-old looks set to carry a questionable tag into the matchup. Tony Pollard could have an increased role in the Cowboys' game plan if Elliott is held out or limited Sunday.

Hasty rushed just four times for three yards and brought in both of his targets for 10 yards in the 49ers' 34-17 loss to the Packers on Thursday night. He also returned one kickoff for 21 yards.

Hasty was set to share backfield duties with Jerick McKinnon in what was assumed to be a more even split, but ultimately, the latter logged eight more carries. Hasty had seen no fewer than nine rush attempts in the three games prior to Thursday's, so the downturn in his opportunities against Green Bay's vulnerable rush defense was especially discouraging. Hasty will hope to garner more total touches in a Week 10 battle against the Saints in 10 days if both Raheem Mostert (IR-ankle) and Tevin Coleman (knee) remain out for that contest.