NFL Player News

Barner departed Friday's practice after suffering a lower-body injury while fielding a punt, John Reid of The Florida Times-Union reports.

Barner limped to the locker room, indicating it's a lower-body injury, but there are no other details about the nature of his issues. The 31-year-old is battling for a roster spot in Baltimore after spending the last three years with four different teams, so his best path to a roster spot is by returning kicks and punts.

Patriots' running backs coach Ivan Fears has noted that that Taylor reminds him of Dion Lewis, Phil Perry of NBC Boston reports.

The most obvious reason for the comparison is that Taylor is 5-foot-6, 185 pounds, while Lewis -- who enjoyed some success with the Patriots a few seasons back -- checks in at 5-foot-8, 195 pounds. Like Lewis, Taylor is quick and has some pass-catching skills, so it's possible that the UDFA out of the University of Arizona could earn a spot on the team's regular-season roster or practice squad. It would take several breaks in his favor, however, for Taylor to make a fantasy impact as a rookie.

Gordon, who exited practice early Thursday due to a rib injury, is considered day-to-day, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.

The running back didn't practice Friday but isn't expected to miss much time beyond that, according to coach Vic Fangio. In Gordon's absence, Royce Freeman and LeVante Bellamy figure to see added practice reps behind Phillip Lindsay.

Swift did not take part in practice Friday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Twentyman didn't have an immediate reason for Swift's absence from practice, but he and Bo Scarborough (undisclosed) were reportedly both out of commission. Assuming the absence isn't expected to be a long one, Swift, who has impressed as a receiver early in camp, should be a major factor in the Lions' backfield as a rookie.

Gordon (ribs) isn't practicing Friday, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reports.

Gordon was limited Thursday after "tweaking" his ribs early in the practice session. His absence Friday should free up more reps for Royce Freeman and LeVante Bellamy behind Phillip Lindsay.

Vaughn earned praise Thursday from coach Bruce Arians for both his toughness and superior vision as a runner, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

The rookie had a brief hiccup at the start of training camp with his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but it appears he's starting to make up for lost time. Arians anointed Ronald Jones as the clear-cut lead back heading into camp, putting the onus on the rookie to progressively make a dent into the third-year pro's playing time with his own performance. As is usually the case for young running backs, one of the keys to snaps for Vaughn will be his consistency in pass protection, and to that end, it's worth noting Arians also remarked that the Vanderbilt product was quickly finding out how difficult "some NFL pass rushers are to block" in early practices. Smith separately reports Arians noted Friday that Vaughn is also a consideration for kickoff returns, especially with T.J. Logan (knee) slated to undergo surgery Saturday for a patellar tendon injury suffered in Thursday's practice.

Ekeler has shown impressive strength at training camp, holding his own in drills against linebackers, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Ekeler may have a reputation as a scatback, but he's listed at a respectable 200 pounds and owns a career average of 4.8 yards per carry. He's in good position to build on last year's career high 132 carries, now sharing a backfield with Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley instead of Melvin Gordon. That's not to say Ekeler will be a 20-carry-a-game workhorse, but he does have some chance to match his volume from Weeks 1-4 last season -- 14.0 carries, 6.0 catches per game -- when Gordon was holding out.

Singletary had a tough practice Thursday, getting bottled up on runs between the tackles and even fumbling one time, Joe Buscaglia and Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports.

Meanwhile, rookie third-round pick Zack Moss thoroughly impressed, showing great vision and finishing explosive runs with his physicality. Moss has two inches and 20 pounds on the 5-foot-7, 203-pound Singletary, which could inhibit the latter from getting some early down work in 2020. In particular, though, Singletary's ball-control issues reared their head again. Last season, he was tied for second in the NFL with four fumbles, averaging one every 45 touches. With Moss swapping in for Frank Gore in the Bills backfield, Singletary may have a difficult path to average 15 touches per game, as he did as a 2019 third-rounder last season.

The Lions re-signed Hills on Thursday, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

Hills was waived by the Lions on Monday, but he now rejoins the team after just a handful of days. He drew one start for Detroit in 2019 due to a litany of injuries at the running back position, the only contest for which he was active. He'll now compete for a similar reserve role.

Moss has displayed his ability as a pass-catcher in practice of late, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

It's already established that Moss, a tackle-breaking runner, could end up being in the mix to see work on short-yardage plays as a rookie, but if he continues to show receiving aptitude it can only help his chances of see added touches behind presumed starter Devin Singletary.