NFL Player News

West (calf) won't practice Wednesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports.

While West isn't believed to be nursing a long-term injury, reports last week suggested he'd likely miss more than one game. Javorius Allen and Alex Collins will likely split reps out of the backfield again Sunday in Minnesota unless West returns to practice by the end of the week.

Titans head coach Mike Mularkey said he's been happy with the workload split between Henry and DeMarco Murray, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. "That's probably been the case of late, when we go into a four-minute," Mularkey said of Henry. "He's probably a little fresher from not taking a lot of snaps. But I really like how it has played out with percentages and how these guys [get along]."

Henry played more snaps (40) than Murray (38) for the first time all season in Monday's 36-22 win over the Colts, also holding a 19-12 advantage in carries and 20-16 edge in touches. It was a significant change from Week 5, when Henry took just four carries on 11 snaps as the Titans played from behind in a 16-10 loss to the Dolphins. Murray's role on passing downs ensures he'll stay involved regardless of game context, while Henry's role as the "four-minute" back should lead to significant volume when the Titans nurse a second-half lead. Both backs figure to have key roles Sunday in Cleveland, facing a Browns defense that's allowing 7.9 yards per pass attempt and just 3.0 yards per carry. Murray will likely get more playing time early in the game, but Henry could be busy in the second half if the Titans storm out to a lead.

McFadden could be included among the Cowboys' inactives for the Week 7 matchup with the 49ers after starting running back Ezekiel Elliott was granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday for his six-game suspension, the Associated Press reports.

Since being handed the suspension during the preseason in August, Elliott has had the ban overturned twice by the courts, and it remains unlikely that the saga has concluded. However, the most recent legal decision at least tentatively puts Elliott on track to play Sunday against San Francisco, meaning that McFadden will likely miss out on an opportunity to earn his first snaps of 2017. With Elliott having suited up in all five of the Cowboys' games to date, Alfred Morris has acted as his primary backup, while the lone other running back on the roster, Rod Smith, has seen the bulk of his snaps on special teams. Since McFadden doesn't offer any value on the special-teams units, the Cowboys have little reason to keep him active as a third-string option when all of their other running backs are available.

Drake did not record a touch during Sunday's 20-17 win over the Falcons.

Earlier this month, reports out of Miami said the Dolphins were going to begin phasing their 2016 third-round pick into the offense more behind starter Jay Ajayi. In the two games since, he has a grand total of one carry and no yardage, and he saw the field for just one offensive snap on Sunday. This offense still runs through Ajayi, and it continues to be Damien Williams, not Drake, who adds the pass-catching ability and change of pace in Miami's backfield.

Elliott (suspension) was issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, allowing him to play Sunday at San Francisco, Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Typically on the side of the NFL, the Southern District of New York ruled in Elliott's favor this time around. Because Judge Katherine Failla won't return from vacation until the end of the month, Elliott should be able to suit up in both Week 7 and Week 8, pushing off the legal fight for the time being. Elliott will thus handle the ground game for the Cowboys for the rest of October.

Banyard was released by the Bills on Tuesday, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Banyard suited up for two games with the Bills, receiving snaps only on special teams. The journeyman will now look to continue his career on a team in need of some extra backfield depth. The Bills will now proceed with three running backs on the depth chart.

Ellington was not targeted and didn't record a carry in Sunday's 38-33 win over Tampa Bay.

Many expected the addition of Adrian Peterson to shake up Arizona's backfield, but few could have guessed that it would have been so dramatic, with 134 yards and two scores in his first game in red and black. Ellington, meanwhile, saw his production take a dive from 82.7 yards per game over the past three weeks to nada. Arizona was up 31-6 after three quarters, so there was less need for a scat back like Ellington than for a power puncher like Peterson. Moving forward, Ellington might still be able to make an impact as a receiver, his strongest suit and an area in which Peterson has seldom been a major factor, but Ellington's value has definitely taken a big fall in the past week.

Anderson rushed for 17 yards on nine carries in Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Giants.

It was an ugly outing overall for Denver as a few nice runs by the Giants, and some early turnovers took the team out of its rhythm and forced the team to the pass. With the season hanging in the balance after a third consecutive poor offensive performance, expect Denver to lean heavily on Anderson against the Chargers. In two losses this season, Anderson has averaged 9.5 touches per game and 30 total yards. In three wins, he's averaged 24.3 touches per game and 118 total yards. Those figures include 88 total yards in the Broncos' Week 1 win over the Chargers.

Simmons was signed to the Panthers' practice squad Tuesday, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

Simmons played with the Panthers during the preseason but was cut prior to the start of the regular season. His only legitimate chance for promotion to the active roster would be if injuries plague the team's running back unit.

Mack had two carries for 18 yards in Monday's loss at Tennessee. He didn't have a catch on two targets.

Mack looked explosive on a 22-yard carry early in the first quarter, but was then given just one carry the rest of the game (he lost four yards). He played 14 snaps on offense compared to 23 for Frank Gore and 21 for Robert Turbin, so he was closer in playing time than the touches indicated. Still, it's a major question why the coaching staff didn't use him more. Mack may get more of a role next week with Turbin suffering what looked like a serious arm injury.