NFL Player News

Leake was waived by the Giants on Saturday.

It's a bit surprising considering some thought Leake was on the verge of securing a spot on the 53-man roster. An expanded practice squad almost assures Leake will at least be on the Giants in some capacity should he make it through waivers.

Boone scored a touchdown on a swing pass from Jake Browning in Friday's dress rehearsal scrimmage at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. He looked even more elusive and explosive than he did last year, according to Arif Hasan of The Athletic.

Boone has had a strong training camp, but he's still the No. 3 running back behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. While he may be one of the better No. 3 running backs in the league, he may not get many carries unless the top two running backs are injured.

Barkley (undisclosed) worked a number of offensive units during Friday's intrasquad scrimmage, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

Barkley came up limping after attempting to break a tackle at Monday's practice, but his presence in the lineup Friday indicates he's more or less healthy. During one possession in particular, he sandwiched two short rushes around a 15-yard catch and run for a first down, per Paul Dottino of the Giants' official site. With his all-around skill set on display, Barkley again is considered one of the top fantasy assets as he looks to avoid the injuries that set him back a bit last season.

Williams signed a contract with the Ravens on Friday, Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun reports.

Williams is recovered from the torn ACL he suffered in his senior season at BYU. He was quite productive before being shut down for the year, rushing 49 times for 264 yards and three scores, and the Ravens need depth at running back with Justice Hill (undisclosed) and Kenjon Barner (undisclosed) both on the sidelines. If Hill gets healthy, however, Williams will be a longshot to make the Week 1 roster.

Harris' strong training camp has put him in a position to claim a key role in the Patriots' backfield to start the season, NESN's Zack Cox reports.

While Sony Michel (foot) was sidelined for a good chunk of time at the start of camp, the hard-running Harris performed well, putting himself in the conversation to potentially head the team's backfield committee early on this season. However, Michel is back practicing in full now and has reportedly looked "smooth and explosive." He'll now make a push to maintain his perch atop the team's depth chart. With the versatile Rex Burkhead, pass-catching specialist James White -- and eventually Lamar Miller (knee) -- also in the mix, the week-to-week workload of New England running backs figures to be hard to predict, but one thing seems certain; Harris will see his share of touches this year after logging just four regular-season carries as a rookie in 2019.

Though Drake (foot) isn't practicing Friday, he was spotted jogging around on the field without a walking boot, Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Both the running back and coach Kliff Kingsbury have downplayed Drake's foot issue, with the team's lead back having previously noted that he also used a walking boot at times last summer. Though it would be reassuring to see Drake return to practicing fully in short order, his presence on the field Friday is encouraging and supports the narrative that he'll be available for Week 1 action.

Swift's continued absence from practice with an undisclosed injury could have a negative impact on his Week 1 role, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Swift suffered his injury in the Lions' third padded practice, bringing his fast start to training camp to a screeching halt. He should still have a role in the offense if he's healthy enough to play in the season opener against Chicago, but it is possible the missed practice time tilts the Week 1 workload more in Kerryon Johnson's favor. In any case, Swift missed another practice session Friday.

Mixon (head) is absent from practice Friday, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.

Mixon was present but not participating at the beginning of the week, and this now makes three straight days where he's been absent altogether. The running back is dealing with migraines, a health issue that hadn't previously been reported during his football career. There was speculation his absences might be related to contract negotiations, but there hasn't been any hard evidence to support that idea. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Thursday that discussing are ongoing between the Bengals and Mixon's agent.

Jones hurt his left foot during Friday's practice, but coach Bruce Arians doesn't think it's anything serious, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

James Palmer of NFL Network reports that Jones was walking around after practice, albeit with ice and a wrap over his foot. None of the initial reports hint at a major issue, but we'll start to take notice if Jones is held out of practice over the weekend and into the upcoming week. Any missed time would free up more first-team reps for LeSean McCoy or Ke'Shawn Vaughn.

Patterson could get some work in the backfield if David Montgomery (groin) misses games, but Patterson has shown a tendency to bounce runs outside and doesn't have much experience with pass blocking, according to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune.

The Bears are light on backfield depth, with the other options being passing-down specialist Tarik Cohen, special teams player Ryan Nall and undrafted rookie Artavis Pierce. Biggs identifies Pierce as being the closest to a traditional running back, while the other three guys appear more specialized. Long story short, Patterson has a shot to get some backfield snaps, but he isn't likely to take a large number of carries Week 1 against Detroit.