NFL Player News

Akers left Sunday's game at Philadelphia due to a rib injury, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

Akers played 24 of the Rams' 73 offensive snaps Week 1 against the Cowboys, turning 14 carries into 39 yards and his sole target into a four-yard catch. The 2020 second-round pick opened his second career game with three rushes for 13 yards before heading to the sideline on the team's first possession. With Akers questionable to return, L.A.'s backfield has been whittled down to Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson.

Huntley (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game versus the Rams.

Huntley made his NFL debut in Week 1 against Washington, but with Miles Sanders returning from a hamstring injury, Huntley will watch from the sidelines Sunday.

Perine (ankle) is active for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Chris Ryan of NJ.com reports.

Perine's nagging ankle injury prevented him from playing in last week's loss to the Bills, but the rookie fourth-round pick will make his NFL debut Sunday. Though top back Le'Veon Bell (hamstring) is now on injured reserve, it's unclear how extensive of a role Perine might have behind Frank Gore, who is slated to start in Bell's stead. The Jets are keeping their other reserve running backs (Kalen Ballage and Josh Adams) active Sunday, so those two players in addition to Perine will all be vying for change-of-pace work behind Gore.

Sanders (hamstring) is active and starting Sunday's game against the Rams, Chris McPherson of the Eagles' official site reports.

After sitting out Week 1 due to a lingering hamstring injury, Sanders put in full practices in advance of this contest and declared himself 100 percent healthy Friday. It appears the aforementioned absence was precautionary, but it'll be interesting to see if he'll handle a similar workload to the second half of the 2019 season, when he received at least 70 percent of the offensive snaps in six of the final eight games (including playoffs). During that stretch, he totaled 763 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. If Sanders yields work, Boston Scott and Corey Clement are the candidates to fill in out of the Eagles backfield.

McFarland will make his NFL debut in Sunday's game versus the Broncos, Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

McFarland -- a rookie fourth-round pick -- was a healthy scratch in the season opener, a game in which James Conner sustained an ankle injury. Conner is healthy and expected to start against the Broncos, but McFarland will add depth and could serve as a change-of-pace back.

Conner is expected to split carries with Benny Snell on Sunday in the Steelers' game against the Broncos, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Though Conner was surprisingly able to avoid an injury designation heading into Week 2 after exiting with a sprained ankle in the season-opening win over the Giants, he may not reclaim the clear lead role out of the backfield that he's enjoyed for much of the past two seasons. While Conner sat out much of the Week 1 win, Snell turned heads with a 19-carry, 113-yard outing, which should earn the latter a more elevated role in Week 2. Coach Mike Tomlin hasn't specified what the distribution of carries between the two might look like, as the Steelers may be inclined to roll with the hot hand as the game goes along. Of the two backs, Conner still probably projects as the better option for Week 2 fantasy lineups, given his superiority to Snell as a pass catcher.

Gordon is expected to serve as the Broncos' clear lead back for at least the team's next two games with Denver expecting Phillip Lindsay to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a sprained toe, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Lindsay had already been ruled out for Sunday's game in Pittsburgh, but following the results of a second opinion on his injury, he's now expected to miss the Week 3 game against Tampa Bay as well. Before Lindsay departed in the second quarter of the Broncos' Week 1 loss to the Titans, he held a 7-5 carry advantage over Gordon, who ultimately shouldered the brunt of the backfield snaps the rest of the way to finish with 78 yards and a score on 15 carries to go with three receptions for eight yards. Meanwhile, Royce Freeman played only 10 percent of the offensive snaps, suggesting that he won't be nearly as big of a threat as Lindsay to steal reps and touches from Gordon. While Gordon should thus take on a sizable workload Sunday, a tough matchup versus a Pittsburgh defense that limited the Giants' Saquon Barkley to six yards on 15 carries Week 1 may cap Gordon's overall fantasy upside.

Kelley is expected to serve as the top understudy to Austin Ekeler in Sunday's game against the Chiefs with Justin Jackson (quadriceps) listed as doubtful and not expected to play, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Kelley enjoyed a productive NFL debut in the Chargers' Week 1 win over the Bengals, playing only 24 percent of the offensive snaps and finishing with 12 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers may not have the luxury of operating a run-heavy game plan versus a heavily favored Chiefs team, so Kelley could struggle to replicate his Week 1 usage with Ekeler working as the clear top pass-catching back on the roster.

Bellamy was promoted to the active roster Saturday for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com reports.

The 23-year-old will move up from the practice squad as an extra player for Week 2. Bellamy will provide depth at running back with Phillip Lindsay (toe) sidelined, though he's unlikely to fill a significant role with Melvin Gordon and Royce Freeman handling the load.

McNichols was promoted to the active roster Saturday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Rookie third-rounder Darrynton Evans (hamstring) has been ruled out for a second straight game, so McNichols was brought back up. McNichols logged 13 snaps in the season opener but couldn't reel in his only target, and a similar role should be expected in Week 2 versus the Jaguars.