NFL Player News

Wilson was on the field for 23 percent of the offensive snaps Sunday, finishing with four carries for 27 yards in a 43-17 loss to Miami.

Raheem Mostert (knee) returned from injury and commanded most of the backfield playing time and production. It appears that Wilson will still be used in short-yardage situations, but there isn't much fantasy value there when Mostert and Jerick McKinnon are both healthy.

McKinnon rushed once for no gain and caught two passes (four targets) for five yards in Sunday's 43-17 loss to Miami.

Raheem Mostert (knee) returned to reclaim his starting job, leaving scraps for McKinnon and the rest of the running back corps in an ugly loss. Jeff Wilson ended up with more carries (four) while playing nearly the same amount of snaps as McKinnon (25 percent), so it appears the latter will serve as the team's third-down back when Mostert is healthy. The 49ers could be playing from behind during a rough stretch of games ahead, so McKinnon could produce in the passing game, but the return of Mostert puts an end to Jet's run of standard-league fantasy value.

McFarland ran three times for six yards in Sunday's 38-29 win over the Eagles.

McFarland recorded his first touches as a pro during the Steelers' last game, but his workload decreased Sunday against the Eagles as he averaged just two yards per carry. The 2020 fourth-rounder was outpaced in the contest by Benny Snell, who recorded seven carries, including one on the goal line. James Conner has been fully healthy in recent weeks as Pittsburgh's lead back; in that context, McFarland's fantasy upside is limited as he continues to split complementary backfield work with Snell.

McCaffrey (ankle) will undergo tests this week to determine if he's healthy enough to be activated from IR for Sunday's matchup against the Bears, Myles Simmons of the Panthers' official site reports.

McCaffrey has spent three weeks on IR, the minimum number required to return to the lineup. Coach Matt Rhule plans to have a better idea of McCaffrey's high ankle sprain by the time practice resumes Wednesday, and a return to practice in any capacity would signal that the superstar running back has a good chance to play Week 6. Mike Davis has been excellent in his place, recording 351 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns. He'll continue to start if McCaffrey can't go.

Snell ran for 19 yards on seven carries in Sunday's 38-29 win over Philadelphia.

Snell once again struggled to garner much work in Week 5 and was unable to score on a goal-line carry in the first quarter. Although the 2019 fourth-rounder saw slightly more work (seven carries) than Anthony McFarland (three carries), both running backs have limited fantasy potential as long as starter James Conner remains healthy. Over the past three weeks, Snell has recorded just 35 rushing yards.

Pollard carried the ball six times for 30 yards and caught two of three targets for two yards in Sunday's win over the Giants.

The eight touches were a season high for the Cowboys' No. 2 running back, although Pollard made little impact with them. The Dallas offense could look very different Week 6 with Dak Prescott (ankle) lost for the season, and if more emphasis is put on the ground game, Pollard could start to see 8-10 touches per game on a more consistent basis.

Johnson had eight carries for 32 yards and caught his lone target for four yards in Sunday's 32-23 win over the Colts.

Twenty-eight of Johnson's 32 yards came on one carry, but it was at an important time. The Browns were nursing a one-score lead and faced a third down with a little more than two minutes remaining when Johnson's run gave them a first down and put them in position for an eventual insurance field goal. Johnson moved up to second on the depth chart behind Kareem Hunt, as the Browns cope with the loss to Nick Chubb (knee). Coming off a 95-yard effort in Week 4, Johnson had cache heading into Week 5, particularly with Hunt limited at practices leading up to the game. Indianapolis' stout defense against the run -- it entered allowing 77.0 yards per game, fourth in the NFL -- bottled up Cleveland's ground game, which forced more from the passing game.

Mattison took over for an injured Dalvin Cook (groin) in the second half of Sunday's loss to Seattle, receiving 20 carries for 112 yards while adding three receptions for 24 yards.

Cook was briefly forced out of the contest in the third quarter with a groin injury, and he was able to return for only one more carry before leaving the game for good. That opened the door for Mattison to take over as lead back, and the 22-year-old was up to the task. Mattison was able to do his best Cook impersonation by ripping off chunk after chunk against the Seahawks' stout front seven. Cook will have an MRI on Monday, so we should get more information soon on whether Mattison will become a prize off the waiver wire for a potential start against Atlanta on Sunday.

Coach Mike Zimmer said Sunday that Cook (groin) will receive an MRI on Monday, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Cook appeared to suffer a groin strain in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-26 loss to the Seahawks. Prior to being forced out, the 25-year-old had 17 carries for 65 yards and a score, in addition to five catches for 24 yards. He briefly returned to the field, per Tomasson, before deciding that he wasn't able to play through the issue. The Vikings stand to receive more information on the severity of Cook's injury Monday, and if he's forced to miss any time, the team has a more than capable backup on hand in the form of Alexander Mattison, who scampered for 112 yards on 20 carries himself Sunday.

Gaskin carried 16 times for 57 yards and a touchdown while adding 34 yards on five catches (five targets) during Sunday's 43-17 win over the 49ers.

Gaskin struggled to the tune of 3.6 yards per carry but still managed to come through with his second-highest totals of the season in carries and rushing yards. He scored a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter and rounded out his performance with five receptions for the third time in the last four games. Gaskin's yardage totals aren't elite, but he's received 61 touches over the last three games and could get a few more chances in the red zone moving forward for a surprisingly productive Dolphins offense. Gaskin will look to build on this effort next Sunday against the Broncos.