NFL Player News

Abdullah had a two-yard carry during Sunday's 21-16 loss to Green Bay.

Unsurprisingly, Abdullah continued to have a small role in the offense while competing for carries with the red-hot Dalvin Cook and rookie third-round pick Alexander Mattison. What might be more surprising is that Minnesota isn't even utilizing Abdullah's athleticism in the return game despite his place on the depth chart. Sophomore receiver Chad Beebe has accounted for all five of the Vikings' returns this season.

The Lions released Anderson on Wednesday, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

In a surprising turn of events, the Lions claimed Paul Perkins off waivers and sent Anderson packing. Anderson had a decent role in the offense Week 1 with 11 carries for 35 yards, but he was outproduced by rookie Ty Johnson (6-30-0) in Week 2 while mustering just eight yards on five carries. Kerryon Johnson will now be the unequivocal lead back in Detroit with Ty Johnson, Perkins and J.D. McKissic rotating in.

Cunningham worked out for the Lions on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Cunningham was originally released by the Jaguars on Aug. 11. Tuesday's workout is important for the 29-year-old because it means he's clear of the hamstring injury that plagued him early in training camp. Detroit already has four healthy running backs on its active roster, but Cunningham could find a spot on the practice squad if he impresses the team Tuesday.

Thompson played four snaps on offense in Sunday's 28-10 win over Oakland, taking one carry for one yard.

Thompson has just two touches and six snaps through two games, but he could be looking at a bigger role Week 3 against Baltimore, as backfield mates Damien Williams (knee) and LeSean McCoy (ankle) both came out of the Oakland game with injuries. While neither issue appears too serious initially, the Wednesday injury report should provide a better idea.

Williams was diagnosed with a knee contusion after Sunday's 28-10 win over Oakland, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Williams didn't have any touches in the fourth quarter, finishing with nine carries for eight yards and three catches for 48 yards. With LeSean McCoy (ankle) also coming out of the game banged up, the Chiefs may need Darwin Thompson to play a role in the offense Week 3 against Baltimore. We'll have a better idea later this week when the team releases injury reports.

Johnson ran for just eight yards on three carries, but added 42 receiving yards on three catches during Monday's 23-3 win against the Jets.

The 23-year-old back has made the most of limited opportunities, flashing with a 13-yard scamper on his lone Week 1 carry against the Titans and collecting a 27-yard reception on Monday Night Football against the Jets. Johnson will continue to serve in a complementary role Week 3 when Cleveland plays host to the Rams, and a defense that has thus far ranked in the better half of the league against the run but has given up the ninth-most receiving yards to opposing backs.

Chubb carried the ball 18 times for 62 rushing yards and one touchdown, while adding four receptions for 36 yards during Monday's 23-3 win against the Jets.

Cleveland's offensive line remains a question mark on an otherwise superbly talented roster, after highly touted guard Kevin Zeitler was traded to the Giants this offseason in exchange for defensive end Oliver Vernon. That rearrangement of capital may become evident against stout front sevens as the season wears on, and it sprouted up Monday with Chubb managing just 3.0 yards per carry on eight attempts while the game was within one possession. Week 3 presents a matchup against a Rams defense that was scorched by Christian McCaffrey for 209 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the opener, but bounced back by holding Alvin Kamara to 60 total yards on 14 touches Sunday.

Coach Doug Pederson expressed confidence in Sanders on Monday, Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal reports.

Sanders led all Eagles running backs in offensive snaps Sunday in Atlanta with 35, which was followed by Darren Sproles' 28 and Jordan Howard's 18. Meanwhile, Corey Clement was contained to just 10 plays on special teams. Sanders wasn't exactly efficiently with his reps -- 10 carries for 28 yards and three receptions (on four targets) for nine yards -- but Sproles and Howard were even less so. With the vote of confidence from Pederson, Sanders should continue to lead the backfield in Week 3 against a Lions defense that has conceded 5.2 YPC so far this season.

Anderson rushed five times for eight yards during Sunday's 13-10 victory over the Chargers.

After comfortably out-snapping Ty Johnson 24 to eight in Week 1, Anderson was third among Lions running backs with 12 snaps behind Johnson's 13. The sixth-round rookie looked like he should have taken all of them and utimately led the team with 6.0 yards per carry. It'll be interesting to see if there's actually a changing of the guard taking place behind Kerryon Johnson when Detroit travels to Philadelphia in Week 3.

Conner (knee) expressed confidence Monday that he'll be able to suit up for Week 3's game against the 49ers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Per the report, the running back avoided a serious injury in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks, and it now looks like he may not miss any action. That's a huge break for the Steelers, who will be without QB Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) for the rest of the season. Looking ahead, the team figures to lean heavily on Conner, as well as wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, who profile as the team's top two playmakers in an offense now helmed by Mason Rudolph.