NFL Player News

Ogunbowale was one of several Buccaneers skill players to participate in a workout with Tom Brady at Berkeley Preparatory School on Tuesday, Rick Stroud and Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times report.

The Wisconsin product managed to carve out a steady third-down role in what was his second Buccaneers campaign in 2019, leading to a career-best 35 receptions and 286 receiving yards, as well as a pair of rushing touchdowns. With Brady's extensive history of success with pass-catching backs, it certainly behooves Ogunbowale to get as much on-field time with his new quarterback, especially during an offseason where traditional OTAs aren't an option. Additionally, Ogunbowale projects to face fierce competition for playing time -- and by extension, his roster spot -- from rookies Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Raymond Calais this summer, so it's unsurprising to see him taking the initiative of participating in any workout organized by the future Hall of Fame signal-caller.

Vaughn is expected to enjoy a robust and diverse role during his rookie season despite the presence of Ronald Jones, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports. "The idea is to get him here and see what he does best," Buccaneers general manger Jason Licht said of Vaughn. "We know that he's got good speed. We know that he can catch the ball. We know that he's good in space - he's been very productive there. I think he's capable of playing on all three downs so you can't have too many good backs."

The third-round pick out of Vanderbilt arrives in Tampa with an impressive body of work over his last two college seasons, a stretch during which he demonstrated a knack for breaking off long runs and showed reliable hands. Vaughn should provide an upgrade over Peyton Barber in terms of complementing Jones, as Barber averaged an unspectacular 3.9 yards per carry or less over each of the last three seasons. Vaughn could slide into a role that affords him somewhere in the neighborhood of the 150 carries the now-departed Barber logged last season, at a minimum. Moreover, if Vaughn proves trustworthy as an outlet option out of the backfield, Smith speculates that he could become the primary third-down back and serve in a function similar to that of James White during his time alongside new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in New England.

Mostert indicated Wednesday that he's added muscle to his frame in preparation for a 200-carry workload in 2020, David Lombardi of The Athletic reports.

Mostert held up well to the 190 carries he handled last season (postseason included), racking up 13 touchdowns and 1,108 yards (5.8 YPC). While he still has Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson to contend with, the sixth-year back appears to be preparing for a larger volume of work after finishing the past season with a flourish. He compiled 117 of his 190 rushing attempts (61.6 percent) in the 49ers' eight contests from Week 13 through the Super Bowl.

Elliott could be one of the bigger beneficiaries of CeeDee Lamb's addition to the offense, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

With Randall Cobb on the roster last season, the Cowboys ran plays out of '11' personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) roughly two-thirds of the time, forcing defenses to put an extra defensive back on the field instead of a linebacker. Elliott averaged 5.1 yards per carry out of that formation, the fifth-highest mark in the league, and his 823 total rushing yards from 11 personnel also led the NFL. With first-round pick Lamb now stepping in for Cobb, and the more conservative Jason Garrett gone as head coach, the team will likely increase its use of 11 personnel further, allowing Elliott to face even fewer stacked fronts.

Jones is up to 225 pounds and has been working diligently with trainer Luke Neal on his pass catching this offseason, Luke Easterling of SI.com reports.

The third-year back has some extra motivation in the form of the Buccaneers' selection of Vanderbilt product Ke'Shawn Vaughn in the third round of April's draft, with the latter certainly a threat to put a dent into Jones' workload. The projected competition aside, Jones was likely to focus on improving his pass-catching acumen this offseason anyhow, considering his limitations in that area last season often kept him off the field on third downs in favor of Dare Ogunbowale. Neal recently posted multiple videos of Jones working on his routes on his Twitter account, including one with the USC product running a deep post and making an impressive catch about 20 yards downfield.

Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni indicated during a media session Monday that he anticipates Hines playing a significant role in the passing game in 2020, Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan Indianapolis reports.

Hines has more competition for reps with second-round rookie Jonathan Taylor joining Marlon Mack and Jordan Wilkins in the Indianapolis backfield. Fortunately for Hines, none of the other three is particularly proficient as a pass catcher, an area where the third-year back shines. With Indianapolis bringing in quarterback Philip Rivers to run the offense, Sirianni suggested Hines could handle a similar role as Danny Woodhead did with the Chargers in 2015, when he compiled 80 receptions while playing alongside Rivers. The 38-year-old Rivers has become even more reliant on his running backs in the years that followed Woodhead's departure, as he targeted Austin Ekeler 108 times in his final season with the Chargers.

Walton's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, said Wednesday that the state of Florida has dropped the charge of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman that the running back faced following a Nov. 19 arrest, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Before Miami released Walton the same day as the arrest, he had been serving as the Dolphins' top running back until the NFL suspended him for four games Nov. 4 due to a prior violation of the league's conduct and substance abuse policies. Even though Walton's legal status has been resolved for the November incident, it bears mentioning that he was arrested again in February for violating a restraining order. With that in mind, Rapoport notes that the NFL is still reviewing Walton for potential discipline, making it uncertain if or when he may be allowed to resume his career.

Taylor and Marlon Mack are viewed not just as a 1-2 punch, but a "1-1 punch," in the Colts' offense, offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni told the team's official web site. "They have some different running styles, but again they're both complete backs. I think that's a fantastic problem to have, is to have two guys like that you can feed the football to. It's only going to help our running game," he said.

The Colts selected Taylor in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft even with Mack coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season. Sirianni's comments echo head coach Frank Reich's from last week calling them a 1-2 punch, making it clear the Colts plan to split the workload at running back. However, neither coach's comments got into specifics on how playing time will be divided.

While there haven't been any signs of progress in negotiations, Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said that the organization desires to sign Mixon to a long-term deal, Chris Roling of USA Today reports.

The initial conventional wisdom was that a deal with Mixon would have to wait until the Bengals resolved A.J. Green's long-term contract situation, but that might not necessarily be the case.

Daniel signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent shortly after the 2020 NFL Draft, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Daniel recorded 1,728 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns during his collegiate career at South Dakota State, but he's poised to work as a fullback in the NFL. The rookie likely will be competing for a spot on the practice squad, as Keith Smith inked a three-year extension in March.