NFL Player News

Johnson was released by the Cardinals on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

After cutting Johnson at the conclusion of the preseason, the Cardinals re-signed him prior to Week 2 after starter David Johnson was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated wrist. The 32-year-old tallied 45 carries for 114 yards over four games with the team, but following the acquisition of Adrian Peterson from the Saints on Tuesday, Johnson was deemed redundant. As a result, Johnson will head back to the free-agent market and could have trouble latching on with another team in light of his weak production and lack of versatility out of the backfield.

Cunningham caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown while adding one carry for four yards in Monday's loss to the Vikings.

Cunningham's touchdown came on a fake punt, though he did break a pair of tackles after catching the pass. Otherwise, he was a minor part of the game plan, as he touched the ball twice with the regular offense on the field. He'll have elevated fantasy value should the Bears suffer an injury to one of their top two running backs, but in any case, it's unlikely he'd have more than flex value in any situation.

Rainey signed a contract with the Ravens on Tuesday.

After signing Alex Collins off the practice squad earlier this season following Danny Woodhead's (hamstring) placement on injured reserve, the Ravens will add Rainey to their running back corps with Terrance West (calf) expected to at least miss Baltimore's Week 6 contest against the Bears, if not further games beyond that. Rainey, who attended training camp with the Ravens before being cut in September, has four seasons of NFL experience, splitting time with the Browns, Buccaneers and Giants and averaging 4.0 yards per carry for his career. The 30-year-old is also able to contribute as a pass catcher out of the backfield and as a kick returner, but it's expected that he'll be no better than third on the depth chart at running back behind Collins and Javorius Allen until West reenters the mix. Since Collins has shown promise as a runner and Allen is an adept receiver, it's not expected that Rainey will see many snaps on offense during his time with Baltimore.

Murray had 12 carries for 31 yards and two receptions for 12 yards in Monday's 20-17 win at Chicago. However, Jerick McKinnon had 16 carries for 96 yards.

Murray entered the game as the starter at running back and looked set to be the primary ball carrier after Dalvin Cook's season-ending knee injury. However, McKinnon showed more of a spark Monday, and the Vikings stuck with the hot hand. McKinnon may become the primary ball carrier as a result, but the two could still split carries.

McKinnon had 16 carries for 95 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, and six receptions for 51 yards in Monday's win over the Bears.

McKinnon got more carries than Latavius Murray (12 carries for 31 yards) and looks to be the primary ball carrier with Dalvin Cook out for the season with a torn ACL. Murray and McKinnon may continue to split carries, but McKinnon showed more spark Monday and looks to have more upside in Minnesota's backfield.

Conner gained nine yards on three carries in the Steelers' 30-9 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.

The rookie also saw his first target from Ben Roethlisberger, although he was unable to make the catch. Conner played just six offensive snaps, on par with his average in four games this season, so fantasy owners will need to be patient and temper their expectations if Le'Veon Bell is on the field.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Carlos Hyde will still start for the 49ers, but he added that he will go with the more productive running back once games begin, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee reports.

This news comes on the heels of Breida out-touching and outproducing Hyde in an overtime loss to the Colts on Sunday. Without knowing either player's background, the numbers and late-game usage would indicate that the rookie tailback was actually the starter. While Shanahan confirmed that Breida is still behind Hyde on the depth chart, his willingness to continue rewarding the hotter back could result in increased touches for the speedster going forward.

Williams tallied 15 yards on three carries to go along with one catch for four yards in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Titans.

Williams role remains limited to giving Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake an occasional breather. His longest run was a nine-yard scamper early in the second quarter. He logged just 10 snaps (17.0 percent) in the contest and figures to continue seeing a light workload.

Zenner rushed three times for 11 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Panthers.

Zenner technically wasn't the Lions' preferred goal-line option Sunday, as starter Ameer Abdullah got the first crack to plunge one in near the goal line. After Abdullah failed to score, though, Zenner subbed in and got the job done. However, barring an injury to Abdullah, this is likely Zenner's upside on any given week as his fantasy value is near null when he's not vulturing touchdowns. Furthermore, Zenner could revert to inactive status once Dwayne Washington (quadriceps) is healthy.

Fowler failed to catch his lone target and didn't get any action on the ground in Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Dolphins.

Fowler rarely gets to touch the ball, as the primary function of his fullback job is to block for Tennessee's rushing attack. He'll remain a fantasy afterthought unless both DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry go down at the running back position.