NFL Player News

The Dolphins have agreed in principle to a trade involving Drake, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

This news confirms why the running back didn't accompany the Dolphins to Pittsburgh for Monday night's game against the Steelers. It hasn't yet been revealed which team Drake will be headed to, but per the report, an agreement on that front was arrived at Saturday night. Thought to be among his possible destinations are Tennessee and Detroit. With Drake in line to be on the move, Miami's backfield is now slated to be be led by Mark Walton, with Kalen Ballage in reserve and Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin candidates to serve as the team's No. 3 back.

With Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald relaying that Kenyan Drake (not injury-related) won't travel with the Dolphins for Monday night's game at Pittsburgh, Walton is in line to head the team's Week 8 backfield.

It's assumed that Drake not traveling with the team likely foreshadows a deal prior to Tuesday's NFL trade deadline. If the team moves Drake, Walton -- who led the team with 14 carries in Week 7 -- will be in line to serve as the team's lead back in the coming weeks, with Kalen Ballage also in the mix.

The Dolphins have announced that Drake will not travel with the team for Monday night's game against the Steelers, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Drake isn't known to be dealing with any sort of injury, which suggests that he's likely to be dealt before Tuesday's trade deadline. With Drake not in line to suit up Monday night, the Dolphins' Week 8 backfield is slated to be led by Mark Walton and Kalen Ballage.

Zenner will be Chase Edmonds' backup Sunday in New Orleans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Zenner was among two running backs signed this week to provide depth to the Cardinals' backfield. With Alfred Morris joining David Johnson (ankle) on the inactive list Sunday, Zenner is the only other RB available to the offense behind starter Chase Edmonds. For his career, Zenner has averaged 3.9 yards per carry while hauling in 28 of 39 targets in 37 appearances.

Edmonds will start Sunday's game in New Orleans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Edmonds unexpectedly fueled the Cardinals offense Week 7, when David Johnson (ankle) was active but played just three early offensive snaps before shutting it down for the day. With a 94 percent share of those plays, Edmonds ran over and through the Giants to the tune of 29 touches for 150 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. While he'll find the going tougher against the Saints' ninth-ranked run defense, a workload similar to last Sunday should give Edmonds plenty of opportunity to produce.

Bawden (foot) is active Week 8 against the Giants.

Bawden overcame a back injury to take the field last week, but it was a foot issue that limited his practice time in advance of the home matchup against New York. The only difference for Bawden this week is he'll be blocking for the likes of Ty Johnson and J.D. McKissic, who will be taking on running back duties after Kerryon Johnson (knee) was placed on IR.

Murray will be the Saints' starting running back Sunday versus the Cardinals.

Handed another spot start while Alvin Kamara tends to ankle and knee injuries, Murray shouldn't have a problem handling most of the backfield reps for one more contest. The Saints also will get Drew Brees (thumb) back for the first time since Week 2, which may result in a run-based game plan to avoid putting the veteran QB in harm's way. On the heels of putting up 150 yards from scrimmage and two rushing TDs last Sunday at Chicago, Murray will look to keep it up against Arizona's 25th-ranked run defense.

Kamara (ankle/knee) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

With a Week 9 bye up next, the Saints can play it safe with Kamara and his pair of health concerns with the second half of the campaign in mind. Kamara again will yield lead-back duties to Latavius Murray, who went off for 150 yards from scrimmage and two rushing TDs on 32 touches last Sunday in Chicago.

Coach Matt Nagy plans to lean more heavily on Montgomery and the running game Sunday against the Chargers after the Bears logged only seven carries in the Week 7 loss to the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Even though the Saints turned last week's game into a runaway in the third quarter and forced the Bears to play catchup, the team's seven carries were still a remarkably low total even after accounting for the game script. Perhaps in response to the imbalanced play calling and the poor results it yielded, Nagy wants to "run the heck out of the ball" versus Los Angeles, according to Rapoport. If that's the case, Montgomery would stand to benefit the most, though he hasn't exactly been efficient with the opportunities he's received during his rookie season. Montgomery is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, which is tied for the third-worst mark in the NFL among players with at least 70 totes.

Murray is expected to serve as the Saints' lead running back Sunday against the Cardinals with Alvin Kamara (ankle) not expected to play, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Kamara is listed as questionable on the official injury report, but he's expected to be included among the Saints' seven inactives when the team releases its list 90 minutes prior to the 1 p.m. EDT kickoff. His absence for a second straight contest should set up Murray for another healthy workload after the 29-year-old rumbled for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and added five receptions for 31 yards in the Week 7 win over the Bears. He played 83 percent of the offensive snaps in that contest, so there likely won't be much of an opportunity for backup Dwayne Washington to carve out fantasy utility behind Murray.