NFL Player News

Mostert (knee) was listed as a limited participant on Monday's estimated injury report.

For the third week in a row, Mostert's practice reps have been impacted by a knee injury, but he is coming off his best performance of the season. During Sunday's blowout of the Panthers, he racked up 60 yards and a TD on just nine carries, working primarily in garbage time. Assuming he gets cleared to play Thursday at Arizona, he'll likely be contained to special teams work again with Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida (ankle) and Jeff Wilson occupying the top three spots on the RB depth chart.

The Dolphins officially traded Drake to the Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft, per the NFL's transaction log.

The Cardinals have a clear need in a backfield in which David Johnson (ankle) is day-to-day, Chase Edmonds (hamstring) is doubtful to suit up Thursday, and D.J. Foster (hamstring) landed on IR. Drake will have a steep learning curve with the team facing a short week and the formidable 49ers on tap, but his only competitors for reps (assuming Johnson and Edmonds don't play) are Zach Zenner and Alfred Morris. For his career, Drake has averaged 4.6 yards per carry, hauled in 116 of 164 targets and scored 15 touchdowns in 54 games.

Wilkins had two carries for five yards in Sunday's win over Denver.

Wilkins played just six snaps on offense as he had a limited reserve role. Wilkins isn't likely to get many touches per game as long as Marlon Mack is healthy.

Hines had four carries for 12 yards and three receptions for 34 yards on three targets in Sunday's win over Denver.

Hines played on 18 of the offense's 64 snaps and got more usage than Jordan Wilkins (six snaps). He remains the top passing-down option at running back but isn't getting much playing time behind Marlon Mack.

Breida (ankle) was listed as a limited on Monday's practice estimate, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Breida was injured late in the first half of Sunday's win over the Panthers and didn't return for the remainder of the game. It's possible the 49ers simply held him out for precautionary purposes since they had a comfortable lead, and the fact he would've been able to practice in some capacity Monday could support that notion. Tuesday's actual practice will reveal more about Breida's status for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury characterized Edmonds (hamstring) as doubtful for Thursday's game against the 49ers, Scott Bordow of The Athletic reports.

The news doesn't come as a major surprise after Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported earlier Monday that Edmonds would likely miss a few weeks as a result of the hamstring strain he sustained in Sunday's loss to the Saints. Meanwhile, Kingsbury called David Johnson (ankle) day-to-day, though he too will have a tough time gaining clearance on a short week. In response to injuries to their top two backs, the Cardinals made a deal with the Dolphins on Monday to acquire Kenyan Drake, who could lead the Arizona backfield Thursday in his team debut.

Edmonds is expected to miss a few weeks due to a strained hamstring, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

The Cardinals' backfield has been decimated by injuries of late, as Edmonds got an opportunity to be the top option the past two games due to David Johnson's lingering ankle issue. Edmonds and Johnson are both expected to be sidelined Thursday against the 49ers, which explains why the team traded for Kenyan Drake on Monday. As long as the deal goes through, Drake seems like a decent bet to start this week, though Zach Zenner and Alfred Morris also are in the mix for RB reps.

The Cardinals confirmed that they have a deal in place to acquire Drake from the Dolphins in exchange for a conditional 2020 draft pick.

Per the announcement, the deal is pending until Drake passes a physical with the Cardinals, but barring any late snags, this trade is slated to become official in time for the running back to join the team's depleted backfield in advance of Thursday night's game against the 49ers.

Bawden logged 16 offensive snaps during Sunday's 31-26 victory over the Giants.

Bawden shook off a back injury to play in Week 7 against Minnesota and then worked through a foot injury to play Sunday against New York. However, he didn't handle any offensive touches despite the absence of Kerryon Johnson (knee). If he wasn't a factor this week, it seems unlikely that the fullback will ever get many opportunities to make a dent in the stat sheet.

Coach Doug Pederson said Monday that Sanders (shoulder) is "gonna be OK" and is being viewed as day-to-day after X-rays cleared the running back of any structural damage, Daniel Gallen of The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports.

While Pederson's comments offer assurance that Sanders avoided a major injury in Sunday's win over the Bills, it's worth noting that the coach tends to throw around the "day-to-day" terminology liberally. With that in mind, more clarity on Sanders' outlook for the Week 9 game against the Bears probably won't come until the Eagles have a chance to evaluate him in practices Wednesday through Friday. If Sanders is sidelined next weekend, the Eagles could be forced to lean more heavily on Boston Scott as the top change-of-pace option behind Jordan Howard.