NFL Player News

Coach Matt Rhule said Wednesday that McCaffrey (ankle) looked good in his first padded practice since Week 2, David Newton of ESPN.com reports. "He looked like Christian," Rhule said. "He looked sharp. We'll see how his body responds to the duress and see how it responds [Thursday] morning.''

The Panthers still need to evaluate how his ankle responds to Wednesday's practice workload, but McCaffrey seems on track to return for Sunday's game in Kansas City. While fellow running back Mike Davis has made a decent case to stay involved in the offense, Rhule recently hinted at McCaffrey recapturing a workhorse role once he's cleared to play, per Newton.

Coach Anthony Lynn said Wednesday that Kelley has been "running timid lately," Gilbert Manzano of The Orange County Register reports.

Kelley appears to be working behind both Justin Jackson and Troymaine Pope (concussion) in Los Angeles' backfield at this point. Jackson led the way with 17 carries in Sunday's loss to the Broncos, while Pope logged 10 and Kelley ran seven times for 32 yards. Aside from an early 22-yard gain, Kelley was held to 10 yards on his other six carries, and he took a seven-yard loss on his lone reception. Lynn noted that he remains confident Kelley will "turn it around," but the rookie will need to improve his per-touch efficiency before fantasy managers are able to rely on him with much confidence.

Coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that Akers needs to improve without the ball in his hands to earn more playing time, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports.

Akers has been buried on the Rams' running back depth chart behind Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown for most of the season. Though Henderson hurt his thigh in last week's loss to the Dolphins, the injury is believed to be minor, so Akers will likely continue to serve as the No. 3 option coming out of the team's bye against Seattle in Week 10. Struggles in pass protection often limits rookie running backs' playing time, and that appears to be the case with rookie second-round pick out of Florida State.

McCaffrey (ankle) was in full pads for Wednesday's practice, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Newton notes that McCaffrey was making good cuts during the media-access portion of practice. If the running back avoids any setbacks, he'll likely be activated from injured reserve by the end of the week in advance of Sunday's game against the Chiefs. According to Newton, comments in recent days from head coach Matt Rhule have suggested that McCaffrey is expected to immediately reclaim the workhorse role he handled prior to his injury, resulting in Mike Davis seeing more limited use as a backup.

Taylor (ankle) will practice Wednesday, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

The Colts will reveal later Wednesday whether Taylor practiced on a full or limited basis, but between this news and Keefer describing the rookie's ankle injury as "minor," the running back seems unlikely to miss Sunday's clash with the Ravens. If he proves his health during the week of practice, Taylor should slot back into a starting role Week 9, but projecting what kind of workload he might handle looks more dicey. Taylor was outplayed by backups Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins in last week's win over the Lions, which could prompt head coach Frank Reich to opt for more of a three-man committee in the backfield.

Breida wasn't spotted at practice Wednesday, Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post reports.

The Dolphins will release their first Week 9 injury report later Wednesday, at which point the nature of Breida's absence will be known. Assuming he's ultimately cleared to play Sunday in Arizona, Breida should be in store for an increased workload with starting back Myles Gaskin (knee) likely headed to injured reserve and with recent trade acquisition DeAndre Washington having yet to pass COVID-19 intake testing protocols. In the event Breida is unable to play or is limited Sunday, Miami would rely on some combination of Patrick Laird (ankle), Lynn Bowden and Jordan Howard in the backfield.

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury labeled Drake as day-to-day Wednesday and deemed the running back questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Though the prevailing expectation is that Drake's moderate ankle sprain will sideline him for the Cardinals' first game out of a bye week, the Cardinals plan to evaluate him in practices Wednesday through Friday before rendering an official ruling on his status. In the event Drake is ruled out or limited in the Week 9 contest, Chase Edmonds would have a clear path to a three-down role and would likely make for a quality lineup option in both PPR and non-PPR formats. The other two healthy running backs on the Cardinals' 53-man roster -- Jonathan Ward and Eno Benjamin -- have combined to play only three offensive snaps this season.

Hill garnered two offensive snaps, though he did not register a carry during Sunday's 28-24 loss to Pittsburgh.

Hill dealt with a September thigh injury that held him out early in the season, but since his Week 4 debut, the 22-year-old has played a nearly exclusive special-teams role. 57 of Hill's 59 total snaps have come in that department, while he's yet to garner a carry amongst Baltimore's talented RB stable. Week 8 did mark the first time in 2020 that Hill registered a snap on the offensive side, and perhaps a limited role will continue in the near future for him as Mark Ingram nurses a high-ankle injury.

Freeman garnered no offensive snaps during Sunday's 31-30 win against the Chargers.

The Oregon product got involved with 19 snaps as a member of the special-teams group, but he did not have any offensive role as Phillip Lindsay made his return from a concussion. Freeman had garnered at least one carry in all six of his appearances entering Week 8, but Lindsay (six rushes) and Melvin Gordon (eight) split the RB workload for Denver in a pass-heavy game script. The Broncos will face an Atlanta defense in Week 9 that just surrendered 147 rushing yards and one rushing score to Carolina on Thursday Night Football.

Vaughn garnered three special-teams snaps but no offensive snaps during Monday's 25-23 win against the Giants.

The third-round rookie collected 12 combined touches between Weeks 4 and 6, notching eight rush attempts for 46 yards along with four receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. With Leonard Fournette back to full strength the past two weeks, however, Vaughn has seen his offensive role evaporate. It's not a favorable Week 9 matchup for Tampa Bay backs going up against New Orleans' No. 3 rush defense, but it is expected to be Ronald Jones and Fournette who command virtually all of the RB workload in a crucial NFC South bout.