NFL Player News

Clement rushed 11 times for 43 yards and a score and brought in all three of his targets for 26 yards in the Eagles' 34-13 win over the Giants on Thursday.

Although Wendell Smallwood's 18 rushing attempts outpaced him by a good margin, Clement was the more effective back of the two on a per-touch basis Thursday. The second-year pro was slated to see a relatively limited workload Thursday after having recently dealt with a quadriceps injury, so he and Smallwood could conceivably flip-flop lead-back duties in a Week 7 matchup against the Panthers.

Drake may continue to see most of his involvement in the Miami offense as a pass catcher while Frank Gore handles more of the rushing duties, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. "Frank does a really good job of, 'We're second-and-five, third-and-two.' Or it's we're first down, second down, first down," coach Adam Gase said Thursday. "Kenyan is coming along in that area, it's just that he does give you that element of first-and-10, you get a 60-yard touchdown, where it's a game-changing play."

As Gase's comments imply, the Dolphins view Drake as the more dynamic of the two backs, but his tendency to bounce outside of his assigned running lane in pursuit of a big play can often result in negative or reduced yardage. Gore, meanwhile, lacks explosion, but has been valued by the Dolphins for his ability to hit assigned holes and deliver positive yardage chunks. Because Gore's play-making upside is limited, Drake will still get his fair share of opportunities, though it appears those will mostly come in space as a receiver rather than as a runner. While it doesn't appear Drake will be the three-down workhorse fantasy owners might have envisioned when they drafted him, his secondary rushing/lead pass-catching role proved useful in the Week 5 loss to the Bengals. In that contest, Drake parlayed 13 touches (six carries, seven receptions on 11 targets) into 115 yards -- by far his best total of the season -- and a touchdown.

Cook (hamstring) was a full practice participant Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

One week removed from working almost solely with the rehab group, Cook has progressed from a limited listing Wednesday to uncapped showing one day later. The development would seem to indicate he's on pace to return Sunday against the Cardinals, but his uneven practice workload the past four weeks should cause owners to pause until the release of Friday's injury report. Adding credence to this thought process, coach Mike Zimmer wasn't exactly enlightening earlier Thursday, telling Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Cook is "good" and nothing more.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Breida (ankle) wouldn't practice Thursday but hasn't been ruled out from playing Monday against the Packers, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Shanahan went on to label Breida as day-to-day, which comes three days after the coach called the running back "doubtful" for the Week 6 matchup. It still seems more likely than not that Breida sits out against Green Bay, but the 49ers will see if he's able to do anything at practice Friday or Saturday before deciding his fate. Alfred Morris would act as the 49ers' clear lead back Monday in the event Breida is ruled out for the first time this season.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roehtlisberger said Tuesday that he hopes that Conner retains a role on offense once Le'Veon Bell (contract dispute) reports to the team, Sean Gentile of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "What I would say is, I don't think we put [Conner] on the shelf by any means," Roethlisberger said. "And I will push for James to get as much run as we can because we've seen some great things from him in all phases of football. He's picking up blitzes, he's catching the ball, he's running hard and making plays and playing with a passion, so we need to keep using that."

While Roethlisberger noted that Bell -- who is expected to report to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye -- is "one of the best in the business," the franchise signal-caller acknowledged that Conner has played too well through the first five games to be phased out entirely. In addition to the reasons Roethlisberger laid out for Conner's value in real-life terms, the second-year player has been a top-flight fantasy producer while dominating the backfield snaps for Pittsburgh, amassing 342 rushing yards and five touchdowns while adding 22 receptions for 239 more yards. While Conner's fantasy utility will take a hit once Bell is back in the fold, the Steelers could opt to ease the four-time Pro Bowler back into the mix rather than handing him back the lead role right away, which would still enable Conner to take on a meaningful workload. Furthermore, Pittsburgh may still be motivated to trade Bell prior to the deadline, offering additional incentive for Conner owners to hang tight and wait and see how the situation plays out after the Week 7 bye.

Cook (hamstring) was limited at practice Wednesday.

Prior to Sunday's 23-21 win over Philadelphia, Cook didn't do much work beyond rehabilitating a lingering hamstring injury, leading to his second absence in a three-game span. He boosted his chances of an appearance against the Cardinals during the upcoming weekend with his workload Wednesday, which included taking handoffs from Kirk Cousins. Working with a member of the first-team offense certainly is a positive step, but Cook's status should be monitored as the week progresses to ensure a return is plausible.

Mack (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday.

Mack was ruled out last week after practicing in a limited fashion, so his return to a full session Wednesday is a big step that points toward him suiting up Sunday against the Jets, barring any setbacks. If he's able to return to action in Week 6, Mack would represent little more than a speculative fantasy play, however, given that he would likely share backfield work with Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins.

Cook (hamstring) took handoffs from quarterback Kirk Cousins during the open part of practice Wednesday, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Cook mostly was contained to rehab work last week, logging just one limited practice session Friday. Subsequently termed a game-time decision, Cook was on the Vikings' inactive list Sunday at Philadelphia. With a likely appearance at Wednesday's practice, Cook appears to be trending in the right direction, but the health of his hamstring will dictate whether a return is possible Week 6 against the Cardinals.

Coach Doug Pederson confirmed Clement would play Thursday against the Giants, Graham Foley of the Eagles' official site reports. It's expected that Clement will see increased snaps for the immediate future with Jay Ajayi (knee) out for the season.

Clement didn't see the field in the Eagles' past two games while he managed a quadriceps injury, but he proved his health by turning in full practices Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks to the versatility he provides as a between-the-tackles runner and pass catcher, Clement should be in store for an enhanced workload sans Ajayi, though fellow back Wendell Smallwood will also benefit. It's possible that Smallwood ends up starting and assumes more snaps of the two Thursday while Clement returns from injury on a short week, but Clement may represent the better long-term fantasy option, given that he's still listed atop the depth chart. Darren Sproles (hamstring) will also factor into the backfield mix once he returns to action, perhaps as soon as Week 7 against the Panthers.

Edmonds carried the ball once for a loss of a yard and was unable to connect with Josh Rosen on his lone target during Sunday's 28-18 win over the 49ers.

The Cardinals finally broke through on the scoring thanks to five San Francisco turnovers. It did little for Edmonds, who has all of 10 yards on nine touches over the past three weeks. Don't expect much of a reprieve Sunday. The Cardinals take on a Vikings defense ranked 12th in the league in opponent yards per carry.