NFL Player News

Pumphrey relayed that the leg issue he's been dealing with throughout preseason is a re-injury of his hamstring, Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal reports.

It's an alarming revelation since Pumphrey missed the 2017 season with a torn hamstring. The second-year pro still won't practice the rest of the week and will miss Thursday's preseason game against the Browns, but he hopes to play in the final exhibition contest. Pumphrey's competing against Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams (foot) for the No. 4 RB gig.

Coach Pete Carroll is confident Penny (finger) will be ready for Week 1, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.

The estimated timeline of 3-to-4 weeks suggests it's far from a sure thing, considering Penny had surgery on his broken finger with 25 days to go before the Seahawks' Sept. 9 opener in Denver. He rejoined the team Friday for a walkthrough practice, then suited up in pads for individual drills Tuesday, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic Seattle. The rookie first-round pick seems to be making good progress toward Week 1, but his absence for the rest of the preseason destroys any chance he had to take the starting job from Chris Carson. Of course, the battle for carries should be an interesting development throughout the season, with Seattle presumably expecting some kind of immediate return on the hefty draft investment. Carson will need to perform well to keep his starting job.

Breida (shoulder) is doing individual conditioning work at Tuesday's practice, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 49ers quickly ruled Breida out for the rest of the preseason after he separated his shoulder in the exhibition opener, but coach Kyle Shanahan said he expects the running back to be ready for Week 1. Look for Breida to ramp up his activity level in practice as the Sept. 9 opener against Minnesota draws closer. Any complications would create an opportunity for Jeremy McNichols, Joe Williams, Raheem Mostert or Alfred Morris to get involved in the San Francisco offense.

McKinnon (calf) is doing individual conditioning work at Tuesday's practice, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Already ruled out for the rest of the preseason, McKinnon apparently is making progress in his recovery from a calf strain he suffered during practice Aug. 12. The 49ers are playing it safe with all of their injured players, perhaps aiming for returns to full practice participation once it's time to install the gameplan for Week 1 in Minnesota. McKinnon seems to be on track to face his former team in the opener.

Coach Jay Gruden said Tuesday that Perine is approaching a return to practice, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Perine sprained his ankle in the Redskins' second preseason game last Thursday, with an expectation that he'd be sidelined at least one week. With another exhibition Friday, he likely has just one chance to make an impression on the training staff in order to play, but Derrius Guice's ACL tear has thrown such a wrench in the team's plans that Adrian Peterson was brought on board this week. As a result, Gruden may buck norms and trot out Perine (if healthy), Peterson and Rob Kelley in preseason Week 4 to figure out the lead runner.

Michael carried the ball seven times for 21 yards and hauled in one pass for three yards in Monday's preseason game against the Ravens.

With the Colts dealing with numerous injuries in the backfield, Michael got to see plenty of work Monday night, but he wasn't too effective. With his long carry going for nine yards, he rushed for a total of just 12 yards on his other six. While Michael has been plenty of snaps to open up the preseason, he still may have an uphill climb if he wants to make the Colts' final roster.

Coach John DeFilippo said Cook may play in Friday's preseason game against the Seahawks, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. "Coach and I are going to talk about Dalvin in the next day or two.'' DeFilippo said Tuesday. "We're looking forward to possibly seeing him out there.''

Cook was held out for the first two weeks of the preseason, though he did go through warmups with his teammates prior to Saturday's loss to the Jaguars. He was cleared for contact work at the start of training camp and has now made it through four weeks of practice without any setbacks. The 23-year-old seems to be on track for Week 1 against San Francisco, but the Vikings' cautious handling of the situation is a hint that Latavius Murray could also have a big role in the backfield during the early portion of the season. Though not overly important, a brief appearance in Friday's preseason game would be comforting to anyone with an investment in Cook.

Ekeler (calf) is present at practice Tuesday, Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Ekeler was absent from the Chargers' preseason Week 2 outing against the Seahawks due to a sore calf, more so as a precaution than anything, per coach Anthony Lynn. As such, it's no surprise that Ekeler is back in the fold Tuesday, but his level of participation may still be capped with an eye toward his health. When healthy, he'll act as a pass-catching complement to Melvin Gordon.

Barkley (hamstring) didn't practice Tuesday, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports.

On the plus side, coach Pat Shurmur noted Tuesday that the rookie back is "doing more and more each day." That said, Barkley is considered unlikely to play in Friday's preseason game against the Jets.

Williams (ankle) was in pads at Tuesday's practice, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Williams sustained an ankle injury last Thursday against the Steelers, but afterward he declared he was "fine," according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. By returning within a week, Williams upheld this belief, but the Packers would behoove themselves to limit his reps in preparation for Friday's preseason contest in Oakland. Elsewhere in the backfield, Aaron Jones is tending to a hamstring injury and will kick off the season with a two-game suspension, leaving Ty Montgomery as the unscathed running back option at the moment.