NFL Player News

Williams (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Rams, Herbie Teope of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Williams joined the Saints a little under two weeks ago after Daniel Lasco (neck) was moved to injured reserve, but the former Arkansas standout has yet to make his New Orleans debut. That's unlikely to change anytime soon unless one of the three running backs ahead of Williams on the depth chart -- Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara and Trey Edmunds -- suffers an injury.

Williams was forced out of Sunday's game against the Patriots by a third-quarter shoulder injury.

With Senorise Perry (concussion) also out of the game, the last man standing in the Dolphins' Week 12 backfield is Kenyan Drake.

Martin has been ruled out of Sunday's game in Atlanta due to a concussion, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

On the Buccaneers' first series of the game, Martin asked to come off the field at one point but ultimately continued to play, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. When exactly Martin suffered the head injury is unknown, but he'll now be subject to the league's protocol in order to return. In the meantime, Jacquizz Rodgers should handle most of the carries, while Charles Sims and Peyton Barber handle change-of-pace roles.

Mostert (shoulder) is active for Sunday's game against the Seahawks.

Mostert has just six carries for 30 yards this season, and his last carry was in Week 6. His return will be felt mostly on special teams, and he occasionally returns kicks for the 49ers.

Green signed with the Cowboys' practice squad Sunday, Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The Cowboys are shaking things up since they've been slumping without RB Ezekiel Elliott (suspension). RB Darren McFadden was released, so RB Trey Williams was promoted to the 53-man roster, which opened up the practice squad spot to Green.

Williams will draw the start at running back Sunday against the Patriots, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.

The Dolphins have been splitting the snaps fairly equitably between Williams and Kenyan Drake since Jay Ajayi was traded to the Eagles on Oct. 31, so Williams' starting designation isn't likely to result in him taking on an overwhelming share of touches out of the backfield. Nonetheless, it's a justified assignment after Williams was the better producer of the two in the Week 11 loss to the Buccaneers, during which he rushed 10 times for 78 yards while hauling in his lone target for 24 yards.

Fowler (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Colts, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

The Titans' decision to keep the fullback inactive likely means the team will make more use of three-wideout sets Sunday. Fowler had seen fewer than 10 offensive snaps in each of the last three games, so his presence as a blocker out of the backfield shouldn't be missed too much.

Gillislee is inactive for Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

As a result, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead and James White will head the Patriots' Week 12 backfield, with fellow RB Brandon Bolden also on hand, but in line to work primarily on special teams. Injuries or future game plans may lead to Gillislee's power running skills being needed again, but for now, his lack of utility in the passing game makes him the odd man out among the team's running backs.

McCaffrey took increased snaps as a slot receiver in the Panthers' practices this week and could see more use in that role Sunday against the Jets, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The Panthers are starved for depth at wideout following Curtis Samuel's season-ending ankle injury, so having McCaffrey -- who has already hauled in 57 passes for 433 yards and three scores in 10 games -- assume some reps in the slot could help fill the void to some degree. It's still expected that McCaffrey will see the majority of his snaps out of the backfield, but head coach Ron Rivera may make a concerted effort to keep both the rookie and Jonathan Stewart on the field together more frequently. After struggling for much of the season, Stewart broke out in the Panthers' most recent game Nov. 13 against the Dolphins, rumbling for 110 yards on 17 carries.

The Cowboys will waive McFadden after the two sides mutually agreed to part ways, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

McFadden has been stuck at fourth on the depth chart at running back all season, and even with starter Ezekiel Elliott (suspension) missing the Cowboys' last three contests, head coach Jason Garrett hasn't elected to keep McFadden active for the past two games. With an opportunity to play meaningful snaps unlikely to come McFadden's way barring an injury to either Alfred Morris or Rod Smith, the Cowboys elected to cut the veteran and allow him to pursue his options elsewhere.