NFL Player News

Kamara was absent from Wednesday's practice, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. According to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com, Kamara has a bone bruise in his foot that isn't deemed to be serious.

Kamara has been a force this season, accruing at least 100 yards from scrimmage in six consecutive games. That said, he hasn't reached the end zone in three straight, and now he's tending to a foot issue. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football noted Kamara is merely getting some rest at the moment, but his situation will need to be monitored as the week goes on to ensure he's available Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Elliott was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice due to a hamstring injury, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.

Elliott appears to have picked up the injury during Sunday's loss to the Eagles, during which he carried the ball 19 times for 63 yards and hauled in one pass for 10 yards. The 25-year-old will have two more chances to upgrade to full practice participation, so there's not yet real cause for concern about his Week 9 availability. He's now failed to eclipse 4.0 yards per carry in back-to-back games, and Elliott may struggle to right the ship against a tough Pittsburgh defense. He'll also have to make do with either Cooper Rush or Garrett Gilbert under center Sunday, as Andy Dalton (concussion) was moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week.

Breida didn't practice Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Assuming he's able to move past his hamstring injury before Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Breida could be positioned to headline the Miami backfield with top option Myles Gaskin (knee) expected to land on injured reserve. Meanwhile, position mate Patrick Laird (ankle) was limited Wednesday, while trade-deadline pickup DeAndre Washington hasn't yet passed requisite COVID-19 protocols to suit up. With that in mind, Jordan Howard, Lynn Bowden and Salvon Ahmed are left as Miami's only fully healthy running backs to begin the week.

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.