NFL Player News

Breida (ankle) won't take part in Wednesday's practice, but coach Kyle Shanahan said the running back's condition has improved since Sunday's 39-10 loss to the Rams, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Breida aggravated his left ankle injury early in Sunday's game, finishing with just five carries for 15 yards and a lost fumble before being shut down for the day. He's otherwise been able to play through a variety of injuries this season without sacrificing efficiency, but it wouldn't be all that surprising if the 49ers finally opt for a more conservative approach with Breida heading into their Week 8 game at Arizona. The team would lean on Raheem Mostert and Alfred Morris out the backfield if Breida were to end up sitting out.

Coach Jon Gruden referred to Martin as a "feature back" Wednesday, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

With Marshawn Lynch (groin) placed on injured reserve earlier this week, Martin is now in line to handle the bulk of the carries while Jalen Richard earns most of the work on passing downs. There's also a decent chance Richard sees an uptick in snaps and touches, but Martin is a reasonably safe bet to lead the Raiders in carries during Sunday's matchup with an Indianapolis defense that has given up 110.9 rushing yards per game and 4.0 per carry this season. Oakland will need to lean on Martin, Richard, Jared Cook, Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant after losing Lynch to IR and Amari Cooper to the Cowboys.

Freeman (ankle) isn't practicing Wednesday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports.

Freeman was labeled day-to-day after spraining his ankle during the Broncos' 45-10 win over the Cardinals in Week 7. An absence during Sunday's game at Kansas City would leave more carries available for Phillip Lindsay, with Devontae Booker potentially also earning a few extra opportunities. Believed to be dealing with a high-ankle sprain, Freeman is in serious danger of missing Week 8 and could also struggle to be ready for Week 9 against Houston. He'll at least benefit from the team being on bye in Week 10.

While Cook (hamstring) hasn't officially been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Saints, it's not expected he'll play in the contest, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

Pelissero's nugget mirrors what Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com relayed earlier Wednesday, though the latter report also suggested Cook would likely remain out for the Vikings' Week 9 game against the Lions. Despite the pessimism surrounding Cook's outlook for both this week and next, coach Mike Zimmer was unwilling to commit to the running back missing a fourth straight contest when pressed on the matter Wednesday. Per Pelissero, Zimmer said "there's always a chance" that Cook improves enough to suit up, though the 23-year-old would almost certainly need to resume practicing without significant restrictions for that to become a reality. It's expected that Cook will be listed as a non-participant in the Vikings' first session of Week 8, with confirmation on that front set to arrive shortly after Wednesday's practice concludes.

Multiple league sources believe Cook (hamstring) will sit out Sunday against the Saints and Week 9 against the Lions before potentially returning to action following the Vikings' Week 10 bye, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Since first tweaking his hamstring in the Week 2 tie with the Packers, Cook has appeared in just one game (Week 4 against the Rams), logging only 18 snaps in that contest. While it wouldn't be surprising if the Vikings held Cook out for an extended period so he can make a full recovery from the injury, it's key to remember this report is only what a few sources believe will happen. Fantasy owners will thus need to monitor Cook's progress in practice this week to get a clearer idea regarding where exactly the running back stands heading into Sunday. Latavius Murray would once again act as the Vikings' lead back against New Orleans if Cook misses a fourth consecutive game.

Perine carried the ball twice for two yards during Sunday's 20-17 win over the Dallas.

Two yards on four touches: That's been Perine's contribution to the Washington offense in two active games this season. Perine is only seeing the field because Chris Thompson (ribs/knee) is on the shelf. Given Perine's poor production in Thompson's absence, expect Perine to return to the inactive list as soon as Thompson is back in action. If that absence extends to Sunday, Perine is likely to gather Adrian Peterson and Kapri Bibbs' scraps against a middle-of-the-pack Giants run defense.

Pumphrey signed with Philadelphia's practice squad Tuesday.

The San Diego State product was originally cut from the Lions' practice squad Sept. 26, and found a new team Tuesday. The Eagles have been in the market for running back depth after they placed Jay Ajayi (knee) on injured reserve. Pumphrey has yet to make his NFL regular-season debut after a torn hamstring kept him on injured reserve throughout his rookie campaign.

Conner is expected to remain the Steelers' lead back Sunday against the Bengals with Le'Veon Bell (contract dispute) not planning to report to the team this week, Jim Trotter of NFL.com reports.

There had previously been whispers that Bell was planning on rejoining the team during its Week 7 bye, but that never came to pass. Bell remained absent from the squad when it reconvened Monday and looks like he could continue his holdout through the Oct. 30 trade deadline, if not longer. However long Bell is out of the Steelers' backfield mix, Conner should make for a strong lineup option across all leagues, as he entered the bye week ranked among the NFL's top five in both rushing yards (453) and rushing touchdowns (seven). Conner turned in arguably his best outing of the season against this same Cleveland squad in Week 1, racking up 192 yards from scrimmage on 36 touches (31 carries, five receptions) while finding paydirt twice.

Edwards had two carries for zero yards Sunday against the Saints.

With the Ravens locked in a tight and competitive game, the team's running back rotation tightened up Sunday with Alex Collins and Javorius Allen combining to play 85 percent of the offensive snaps and take 61 percent of the carries. Thus, there wasn't much work left over for Edwards as the No. 3 tailback. Look for Edwards to remain a fringe option in the Baltimore offense who sees the bulk of his playing time when the game is out of reach. He and the rest of the Ravens will head to Carolina to take on the Panthers in Week 8.

Barkley rushed 14 times for 43 yards and a touchdown and caught nine of 10 targets for 51 receiving yards in Monday night's 23-20 loss to the Falcons. He also successfully ran in a two-point conversion.

Barkley once again saw plenty of touches, particularly as quarterback Eli Manning's regular check-down target. In fact, Barkley has now caught nine passes in back-to-back games, even though his 51 yards Monday tied a season low in efficiency at 5.7 yards per grab. The rookie's 3.1 yards per rush weren't very good either, but despite playing behind subpar protection, Barkley once again managed to find the end zone, scoring from two yards out in the fourth quarter. Through seven games, Barkley has now racked up seven scores and will look to add to his tally Week 8 versus the Redskins.