NFL Player News

McKinnon (knee) took part in individual drills in his return to practice Tuesday, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Activated from the PUP list, McKinnon was able to practice for the first time since tearing his right ACL last Sept. 1. If not for what GM John Lynch called a "flareup" in the knee prior to training camp, McKinnon may have been active in a session before Tuesday's. As expected, McKinnon won't progress to team drills just yet as the 49ers ease him in with the aim of avoiding a setback, per coach Kyle Shanahan. Notably, McKinnon didn't wear a brace on the knee in question, according to Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. As a result, McKinnon may not be far away from a full practice and potentially even some game action before Week 1.

The Packers claimed Ford off waivers Tuesday.

Ford may just be a healthy body to add to the mix during practice, considering the Packers have four running backs on their roster currently dealing with injury. The 25-year-old does have some NFL experience under his belt, however, suiting up in two games with the Bills in 2018.

Abdullah is listed as the No. 3 running back and both the primary punt and kick returner on Minnesota's first unofficial depth chart of the preseason.

Abdullah is competing with Mike Boone and De'Angelo Henderson for the No. 3 role behind starter Dalvin Cook and backup Alexander Mattison. The Vikings could keep just three running backs on the roster, so Abdullah's role on special teams could help him make the roster. Abdullah may not end up winning the punt return job over Chad Beebe, but he looks set to begin the season as the kickoff returner.

Mattison is listed as the No. 2 running back on Minnesota's first unofficial depth chart of the preseason.

Mattison was a 2019 third-round draft pick and was widely expected to become the backup to starter Dalvin Cook. Fantasy owners should be more confident in his backup role if he's already No. 2 on the depth chart this early in camp ahead of veterans Ameer Abdullah, Mike Boone and De'Angelo Henderson. Mattison could also emerge as the primary goal-line back.

McKinnon (knee) has been removed from the 49ers' PUP list, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Per the report, McKinnon -- who tore his ACL back on Sept. 1 last year -- is expected to be eased into practices slowly and may be restricted to walkthroughs out of the gate. Once he amps things up in the coming weeks, McKinnon is slated to compete for touches with fellow backs Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman.

Kelley (undisclosed) was waived by New Orleans with an injury settlement Monday, per the NFL communication's official transaction log.

Kelley was placed on injured reserve Sunday after clearing waivers Saturday. Now that he's been released with an injury settlement, Kelley is free to sign elsewhere in the league. The 26-year-old running back will look to catch on in a depth capacity with another team when healthy.

Elliott's representatives have reportedly told the Cowboys that the running back doesn't plan to play this coming season without a new contract, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports.

On the plus side, "a source close to the situation" relayed to Anderson that at this stage, it doesn't seem likely the running back's holdout will linger into the regular season, with that conclusion "based on the belief that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants to get a new deal done" with Elliott prior to Week 1. Meanwhile, Jane Slater of NFL Network notes that the Cowboys are believed to have "generous" offers on the table for Elliott, QB Dak Prescott and wideout Amari Cooper, with terms that would put the trio in the top five in terms of compensation at their respective positions. For now, Elliott -- who has two years left on his rookie deal, continues to work out in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with no immediate resolution to his situation in sight.

McNichols was listed as the team's fourth-string running back on the Titans' first unofficial depth chart, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

It was unsurprising to see McNichols listed behind both Derrick Henry (calf) and Dion Lewis. However, he also remained behind David Fluellen (ankle). That said, if he can keep his roster spot over intriguing rookie Alex Barnes, McNichols could be a factor catching passes out of the backfield if Dion Lewis were to develop any type of injury.

Higdon is in the competition for a backup role behind top back Lamar Miller in the wake of the Texans waiving D'Onta Foreman, Deepi Sidhu of the team's official site reports.

With Foreman out of the picture, Houston's depth chart is wide open behind top running back Lamar Miller. It's possible that the Texans will opt to acquire a No. 2 option via either free agency or trade, and as an undrafted rookie Higdon faces a steep path to meaningful snaps even if his competition remains limited to Buddy Howell, Josh Ferguson, Damarea Crockett and Taiwan Jones. Though he faces long odds, it's worth noting that Higdon boasts impressive speed (4.49 40-yard dash) and was extremely productive in college. Higdon was Michigan's leading rusher during his last two seasons (5.6 YPC) and notched eight games with over 100 rushing yards as a senior.

Sanders could be the Eagles' No. 1 back soon if he is not already, Matt Mullin of PhillyVoice reports.

Both Sanders and his primary competition, Jordan Howard, have issues in the passing game, but the rookie has been good enough in that regard while simply making the most plays. There is a growing media consensus that Sanders is the more talented of the pair, and while the Eagles will employ a committee, the Penn State product could head into the season handling the bulk of the work, especially on early downs.