NFL Player News

The Buccaneers are excited about the progress Jones displayed during their offseason program, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Actions speak louder than words, and the Bucs certainly made a statement with their lack of offseason additions to the backfield. Everything points to a fantastic opportunity for Jones, a 2018 second-round pick who averaged 1.9 yards on 23 carries and 4.7 yards on seven catches in nine games during his rookie season. He'll likely open training camp sharing first-team snaps with Peyton Barber, while the rest of the depth chart holds Dare Ogunbowale, 30-year-old Andre Ellington and undrafted rookie Bruce Anderson. New coach Bruce Arians must be a believer in Jones and/or Barber.

Warren is up to around 260 pounds, Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Warren apparently has put on weight since last year's combine, where he ran a 4.69 40-yard dash while checking in at 6-foot-2, 247 pounds. His new weight likely makes him the largest halfback in the league, which could prove useful for blocking on special teams. With Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richard and Doug Martin all expected to have spots on the 53-man roster, Warren and 205-pound scatback DeAndre Washington seem to be competing for the possibility of a single job. Undrafted out of Texas last year, Warren ran for a league-high 292 yards during preseason and then spent the entire regular season on injured reserve with a knee issue. There hasn't been any report of the injury impacting his participation in Oakland's offseason program.

Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt expects Newsome to take a step forward in his second season, Ricky Henne of the Chargers' official site reports.

Newsome beat the odds and somehow made the leap from going undrafted out of Western Carolina in 2018 to making the Chargers' 53-man roster out of training camp. He was only active for 10 games (including playoffs) and and only logged an offensive snap in four of them, but Newsome showed he could be a useful backup Week 15 against the Chiefs, when he parlayed eight touches into 53 yards. While there are only so many carries and targets to go around behind Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, no other significant running backs were added to the roster this offseason. As a result, Newsome looks like the early favorite for the No. 4 spot on the depth chart.

Bawden (knee) is a candidate to open the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

Bawden has yet to practice fully since tearing his ACL last July. Detroit is going to have some tough choices to make in the backfield when the time comes to make roster cuts in early September. If Bawden isn't fully ready to go by that time, the Lions could stash him on the PUP list as a means of buying time to make a decision on his roster status. Beyond starting running back Kerryon Johnson and backup C.J. Anderson, there seems to be three other options (Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, Ty Johnson) competing with Bawden for what will likely amount to two backfield spots.

Williams could face competition from sixth-round pick Dexter Williams, FOX Sports Wisconsin reports.

The rookie posted better marks in every combine drill than what his new teammate did two years ago, but the veteran should retain a role on the basis of his pass-blocking acumen if nothing else. In any case, Aaron Jones is locked in as Green Bay's lead runner, coming off back-to-back, injury-plagued seasons with 5.5 yards per carry. The Packers likely would turn to a mix of Jamaal and Dexter Williams if Jones were to miss more time this upcoming season. The team finished June minicamp with only four tailbacks on its roster, holding on to Tra Carson (ribs) but cutting Kapri Bibbs.

Williams shared backfield reps with Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde and Darwin Thompson during the offseason program, Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star reports.

Darrel Williams caught on as an undrafted rookie last year and had a late-season stretch as the Chiefs' No. 2 running back after Kareem Hunt was cut and Spencer Ware was injured. Both players found new teams in the offseason, but Kansas City brought in Hyde and Thompson to compete for depth roles, leaving Darrel Williams on the roster bubble ahead of training camp. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has already named Damien Williams as the starter.

Ellington is one of five running backs currently remaining on the Buccaneers' roster following last Friday's release of Shaun Wilson, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

The veteran reunited with former Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians back on Feb. 19, when he inked a free-agent deal with the Buccaneers after spending 2018 out of the NFL. Ellington, a 2013 sixth-round pick, beat the odds over his first two seasons in Arizona, rushing for 1,312 yards, adding another 766 through the air, and scoring nine total touchdowns (six rushing, three receiving). However, after a pair of forgettable campaigns in 2016 and 2017, Ellington finds himself trying to resurrect his career under the man who originally brought him into the league. The 30-year-old back is hoping to hold off Dare Ogunbowale and undrafted rookie Bruce Anderson, both of whom also have special teams experience, for a backup job behind the top duo of Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones II.

Ekeler said he will focus on his route running this summer.

Ekeler often replaces Melvin Gordon on passing downs, though the latter also gets plenty of work as a receiver. Their roles should look much the same in 2019, considering undrafted rookie Jeremy Cox was the only offseason addition to the Los Angeles backfield. Ekeler's career marks of 5.3 yards per carry and 7.8 per target rank as elite by RB standards, but he was limited to 3.2 YPC and 3.8 YPT in three starts last season, failing to approach his usual efficiency when tasked with a larger workload (40 carries, 20 targets in those three games).

The Rams likely will end up cutting Kelly and/or Justin Davis, Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic reports.

With Todd Gurley (knee), Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson locked in, the team only has one available backfield spot, at most, if everyone stays healthy through August. A sixth-round pick last year, Kelly took 27 carries for 74 yards and two catches for 27 yards in four games during his rookie season, logging 50 snaps on offense and 35 on special teams. The lack of involvement on special teams isn't a good sign for his continued presence on the roster, though Davis (133 snaps) wasn't a huge factor in that regard either.

Freeman and Devontae Booker handled first-team reps while Phillip Lindsay (wrist) focused on rehab work during the offseason program, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold reports.

Denver brings back the same trio of running backs and same group of wide receivers from last season, hoping veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, rookie tight end Noah Fant and new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello can provide a lift. Lindsay figures to handle the lead backfield role after averaging 5.4 yards on 192 carries last year, but his 190-pound frame may inspire the Broncos to limit his workload. The 229-pound Freeman should get plenty of snaps on early downs, along with some work in goal-line and short-yardage situations. It's less clear how Booker fits into the picture, as the Broncos ideally would like to see Lindsay take over passing downs. It's conceivable for both Lindsay and Freeman to provide useful fantasy production if Booker is squeezed out of the picture.