NFL Player News

In his second season as a pro, Harris could pair well with lead back Sony Michel to give the Patriots "a potentially nice one-two combination" out of the team's backfield on early downs, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Pass-catching ace James White is still around and will continue to see his share of targets, but Harris will undoubtedly see more opportunities in 2020 after logging just four carries in two games as a rookie. Versatile Rex Burkhead is also in the mix, at least for now, but after taking Harris in the third round of last year's draft, expect the Patriots to see what they have in the 5-foot-11, 213-pound Alabama product. For now, Harris is probably an injury (to a teammate) away from garnering steady volume, but he profiled as a physical downhill runner with a good handle on avoiding turnovers and a willingness to handle blitz pick-up when he came out of college.

Hines should get more opportunities on offense this upcoming season, potentially benefiting from playing with Philip Rivers, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.

Hines operated in a traditional runner/receiver timeshare with Marlon Mack last season, seeing 52 carries and 58 targets while playing 31.5 percent of offensive snaps in 16 games. Those numbers were all down from the 85 carries, 81 targets and 43.9 percent snap share he handled during his 16-game rookie campaign in 2018. The Colts were fifth in run-play rate (46.4 percent) with Jacoby Brissett replacing Andrew Luck under center, but the offense should open up for more passing under Rivers, who has a long history of peppering his running backs with targets. As evidence, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Mike Tolbert, Danny Woodhead, Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler each had at least one season with 75-plus targets playing alongside Rivers in the Chargers backfield. Given Mack's limited pass-catching usage to this point in his career, Hines stands a reasonable chance to crack that 75-target mark, though he probably won't reach peak Woodhead/Ekeler territory in triple digits.

Breida is a candidate to be traded this offseason, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Breida has produced 4.4, 5.3 and 5.1 yards per carry in three years with the 49ers, but he fell behind Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman in the backfield pecking order during last season's NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. The Niners then used a second-round restricted free agent tender to retain Breida, keeping him under contract for $3.26 million in 2020. It's a reasonable salary for a player with his track record of production, but it's a lot to pay for a No. 3 running back, especially if the Niners truly expect Jerick McKinnon (knee) to return from back-to-back missed seasons and battle for a role. Even Jeff Wilson at the bottom of the depth chart has noteworthy NFL experience, so the Niners likely will listen closely if another team is interested in trading for Breida. Another option would involve trading Coleman, who is entering the second season of a two-year, $8.5 million contract.

Henry signed his franchise-tag tender Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Henry's decision to sign the tender hints at confidence in working out a multi-year contract before the July 15 deadline, though Titans general manager Jon Robinson suggested Wednesday that the two parties will wait until summer to hammer out details. Any concern about a holdout can probably be put to rest, as there's no advantage to signing the tender if Henry would consider missing games in the absence of a long-term deal. Players that opted for the holdout route in past seasons declined to sign their franchise tenders, thus avoiding any fines for missing practices and other team activities.

General manager Jon Robinson said Henry and the Titans will wait until summer to discuss a long-term contract, Paul Kuharsky of 104.5 The Zone Nashville reports.

A previous report made it sound like negotiations were imminent, but it now appears the Titans will wait until after the draft and possibly longer. The team placed a franchise tag on Henry in mid-March, providing four months to discuss an extension before the July 15 deadline. If no deal is worked out by that time, Henry could decide to leave the tag unsigned and miss part or all of training camp without sacrificing any of his $10.3 million franchise-tag salary. Most players that choose the holdout path rejoin their teams before Week 1, but Le'Veon Bell in 2018 was a notable exception.

General manager John Robinson said Wednesday that he wants to sign Henry to a long-term contract, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

The two sides have three and a half months remaining before the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions. Henry has made it clear he wants to stay in Tennessee, where his late-season 2018 breakout carried over to a massive campaign in 2019. Big contracts for running backs have mostly turned out disastrous in recent seasons, but Henry has the advantage of starting his pro career with lighter workloads in offenses that also featured DeMarco Murray in the backfield.

Gordon anticipates working in a "one-two punch" with Phillip Lindsay (wrist) in the Denver backfield, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold reports.

Broncos GM John Elway used the same terminology earlier this week, suggesting both Gordon and Lindsay will have key roles in the offense. Gordon's two-year, $16 million contract suggests he'll be the "one" in that one-two punch, though it's Lindsay who owns the impressive career average of 4.9 yards per carry. Gordon's mark of 4.0 YPC has been oft-cited as a criticism, and while there is some merit to the argument against him, it's also true that he's spent most of his career running behind subpar offensive lines. The breakdown of snaps and carries appears uncertain, but Gordon should at least have the advantage when it comes to pass-catching and goal-line work.

Coach Bruce Arians said the Bucs would "love to have a pass-catching back" to complement Jones in the backfield, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

This might be taken as a hint that the Bucs are comfortable with Jones as their lead runner, but it also could be interpreted as a critique of his blocking and receiving skills. The offseason priorities in Tampa Bay were to add Tom Brady and re-sign key players in the defensive front seven, while RB Peyton Barber and WR Breshad Perriman were permitted to leave without much of a challenge. The backfield depth chart now looks paper-thin behind Jones, featuring Dare Ogunbowale, T.J. Logan (thumb) and Aca'Cedric Ware -- a trio with 16 combined NFL carries. Tampa figures to add running backs in the coming weeks, and while that may include an early draft pick, Arians doesn't seem too worried about the position.

The Vikings have re-signed Abdullah.

The 26-year-old logged 23 carries for 115 yards to go along with 15 catches for 88 yards and a TD in 16 games for the team last season. Now that he's back in the fold, Abdullah will continue to serve as a depth option in Minnesota's backfield and should also reprise his role as the squad's primary kickoff returner in 2020.

The acquisition of Melvin Gordon leaves Freeman on the outside looking in at Denver's 1-2 punch of Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, Sean Keeler of The Denver Post reports.

There were whispers that Denver was looking for an upgrade over Freeman in free agency, but the investment in Gordon is even more than expected. Freeman hasn't lived up to his billing as a big, savvy bell-cow back, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry in two seasons. His uber-efficient 2018 season aside, Gordon has averaged just 3.80 yards per carry during his career, but he's a more dynamic receiver and has at least shown the ability to be a big-time runner in spurts. Gordon's contract leaves little hope for Freeman to win back the RB2 role in camp, and it wouldn't be a total shock to see Freeman traded if Denver adds another back in the draft.