NFL Player News

Bolden finished up the 2017 season with 13 carries for 67 yards and one catch for seven yards in 16 games.

The 27-year-old has been with the Patriots since 2012, and he's managed to stick around that long thanks to his versatility and special-teams prowess. Bolden is slated to become a free agent this offseason, but it's not hard to imagine him re-signing with New England in order to reprise his current role with the team. Also in line to become free agents this offseason are fellow running backs Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead, but in any case, if Bolden is brought back by the Patriots, it would not be to compete for a starting slot.

Gillislee (knee) is listed as questionable for Saturday's playoff game against the Titans after returning to practice in a limited fashion Thursday.

Given that this marked Gillislee's first practice since he was injured in Week 16, he's no lock to be made active for Saturday's contest. Moreover, even if Gillislee is available, he could still be deemed a healthy scratch as he was for a six-game stretch, when the team's other running backs were healthy, per the Boston Herald.

Gillislee (knee) was spotted at Thursday's practice, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

We'd expect that Gillislee will be listed as a limited participant Thursday, but his return to the field could foreshadow the running back being listed as questionable for Saturday's playoff game against the Titans. In such a scenario, however, Gillislee wouldn't be a lock to be made active for the contest, assuming Rex Burkhead (knee) and James White (ankle) are healthy enough to suit up this weekend.

Anderson finished the season with 1,007 yards and three touchdowns on 245 carries and 28 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown during the 2017 season. He lost one fumble on the year.

Anderson set career highs in touches and yards in 2017, a product of finally managing to avoid nagging injuries through an entire season. Head coach Vance Joseph has complimented Anderson's endurance and the shape he has been in all season and prioritized getting Anderson to his first 1,000-yard rushing season during the closing weeks of 2017. Anderson did well to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2016 and was often the most dependable weapon in a dull Denver attack. Still, it's more likely than not that Anderson's 1,000-yard campaign will be used to audition for another team. Anderson is owed $4.5 million next season and Denver does not owe him anything if he's cut. With a new position coach and young, up-and-coming potential replacements in Devontae Booker and De'Angelo Henderson, the Broncos can probably find a more effective way to spend that $4.5 million.

With DeMarco Murray (knee) ruled out for Saturday's divisional-round game against the Patriots, Henry will head the Titans' backfield, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.

The 2016 second-rounder rushed for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and caught both of his targets for 35 yards in last week's 22-21 win over the Chiefs in the wild-card round. Per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com the Titans are inclined to use Henry "quite a bit Saturday to exploit some holes in the Patriots' run defense." Given how well Henry ran during the Titans' initial playoff game, that's a sound approach, though in turn it's expected the New England coaching staff will craft its defensive game plan with containing the Tennessee ground game as its top priority.

Gillislee (knee) remained sidelined at Wednesday's practice, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports.

Gillislee hasn't practiced since suffering the knee injury in Week 16, with his back-to-back absences Tuesday and Wednesday clouding his availability for Saturday's divisional-round game against the Titans. In any case, Dion Lewis is in line to head the Patriots backfield this weekend, but who will be available to support him in complementary roles remains up in the air. In addition to Gillislee, Rex Burkhead (knee) and James White (ankle) are working in limited fashion at practices this week.

Simmons signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants on Tuesday, per the league's official media site.

Simmons has bounced around on practice squads since entering the league in 2016, but he has yet to receive a promotion to an active roster. He'll need quite the camp to make the 53-man roster come fall, as the Giants now have five total running backs on their roster.

Artis-Payne finished with 18 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown in 13 games played this season.

Artis-Payne, a fifth-round pick in 2015, played just 10 games over his first couple seasons, so this year was his first as a regular member of Carolina's 53-man roster. Despite reaching that status, however, he was handed half as many carries this year as his previous low mark for a season. While his career average of 4.3 yards per rush isn't too shabby, Artis-Payne just hasn't been able to crack the Panthers' backfield rotation. He'll aim to finally do so in 2018, the final year of his rookie contract.

Gillislee (knee) didn't practice Tuesday.

Gillislee's last known activity occurred Week 16, when both Rex Burkhead (knee) and James White (ankle) were sidelined. The latter pair returned in a limited capacity Tuesday, setting themselves up to serve as change-of-pace options for starter Dion Lewis in Saturday's divisional-round game against the Titans. If Burkhead and/or White are available, Gillislee likely would be one of the Pats' inactives this weekend.

The Bills signed Green to a reserve/future contract Monday, The Buffalo News reports.

Green, a second-year product out of TCU, didn't log any NFL action in 2017 but finished the campaign on the Bills' practice squad. He'll now join Buffalo for offseason workouts with the hopes of sticking around in the organization through training camp, though he'll face an uphill battle to crack the 53-man roster.