NFL Player News

Cook announced Monday that he intends to exercise a holdout from team activities until he receives a "reasonable" extension, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, in which he would play under a $1.3 million salary if not extended, it's not surprising to see Cook make use of what leverage he has and hold out from all team-related activities. Schefter reports that the Pro Bowler "will not be showing up for camp or beyond" until the Vikings offer him an extension, a hint that Cook could tentatively carry his holdout into the regular season should it come to that. The 24-year-old was one of the premier ball carriers in the league through 14 regular-season contests last season, accruing 1,135 yards on 250 carries (4.5 YPC), in addition to 13 touchdowns. He also showcased top notch receiving abilities, hauling in 53 passes for 519 yards. Behind Cook, Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone are next up on Minnesota's depth chart.

Coach John Harbaugh said he expects Hill to take a big step forward in his second pro season, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

It's a reasonable expectation, but even an impressive offseason won't necessarily give the 2019 fourth-round pick a path to playing time in a backfield that also holds Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. It sounds like Harbaugh may carry four tailbacks on the 53-man roster instead of his usual three, especially if Hill and Edwards prove useful on special teams. Hill played 187 snaps on offense and 97 on special teams last year, averaging 3.9 yards on 58 carries, 8.8 yards on eight receptions and 18.9 yards on 12 kickoff returns. Any hope for 2020 fantasy value likely involves a trade or an Ingram/Dobbins injury.

Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell praised Akers' determination as a runner and ability to create yardage on his own, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports. "You really saw the amount of personal grit and determination," O'Connell said of Akers' time at Florida State. "He was running against of loaded looks...you see the upside -- I think it was a great running back draft, there was a lot of depth there across the board -- but for us, and for me personally with Cam, just watching and thinking about where he could possible get to and maximized in our offense, it's really exciting."

Though O'Connell acknowledged Akers faces a longer learning curve because of the unconventional 2020 offseason, there aren't many other obstacles in the rookie's path to a significant workload out of the backfield. Malcolm Brown's 197 career carries are the most among current Rams running backs, and 2019 third-round selection Darrell Henderson's disappointing rookie season consisted of just 95 offensive snaps over 13 games.

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.