NFL Player News

Ellington (knee) doesn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against the Jaguars after practicing fully Friday.

The same applies to fellow running back Alfred Blue (concussion), so Ellington is in line to have have some company in the Texans' backfield mix behind starter Lamar Miller (knee). In that capacity, neither Ellington nor Blue represent high-percentage fantasy plays against the Jaguars defense that has allowed just six rushing scores through 13 games.

Patterson could take on increased offensive snaps in Sunday's game against the Cowboys with Amari Cooper (ankle) ruled out for the contest, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports.

When Cooper sat out the Week 13 win over the Giants before returning to last week's loss to the Chiefs and exiting early after aggravating the ankle issue, Patterson was one of a few wideouts called upon to fill Cooper's spot. Though he found less success against Kansas City (three catches for eight yards on six targets), Patterson proved to be a big-play threat against New York, finishing that contest with a season-high 97 yards on four receptions. It's still expected that Cooper's fellow starting receiver, Michael Crabtree, will rank as quarterback Derek Carr's top target in Week 15, but Cooper's absence nonetheless creates more targets to go around for Patterson and tight end Jared Cook, and perhaps Seth Roberts and Johnny Holton to a lesser extent.

With Damien Williams (shoulder) listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bills, Drake should see the bulk of the touches out of the Miami backfield, James Walker of ESPN.com reports.

Even if Williams had made more progress in his recovery this week and gained clearance to play, Drake still likely would have retained the lead-back role due to the outstanding production he's provided the past two games. In those contests, Drake has amassed 234 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown, showcasing both big-play ability and power between the tackles. He'll profile as a strong fantasy option once again Sunday against a Bills defense that has surrendered 354 yards on the ground over the past two weeks.

Williams (shoulder) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bills, James Walker of ESPN.com reports.

Williams created some optimism about a potential return this week by returning to practice on a limited basis Thursday. However, he was unable to build on that, as he was a non-participant in Friday's session, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, making it likely that Williams will miss his third consecutive game due to the dislocated left shoulder. Assuming Williams sits out, Kenyan Drake will once again handle the bulk of the touches out of the Dolphins' backfield. Considering Drake has reeled off 100-plus-yard rushing performances the last two weeks, Williams may have to settle for a limited role in the Dolphins' offense once he's cleared to play again.

Kamara (concussion) has been cleared to play Sunday against the Jets, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

Benefiting from some extra time coming out of a Thursday night game in Week 14, Kamara was a full practice participant all week and made it through the concussion protocol with time to spare. There should be plenty of touches to go around for both him and Mark Ingram this week, as the Jets are massive underdogs for quarterback Bryce Petty's first start of the season. Kamara had five straight games with at least five catches, 116 scrimmage yards and a touchdown before he suffered a concussion on the opening drive of last week's loss to the Falcons.

Williams is expected to retain starting duties at running back for the Cardinals' final three games with Adrian Peterson (neck) headed to injured reserve, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.

Williams struggled early in the season after replacing the injured David Johnson (wrist) as the Cardinals' lead back, but he's been far more productive in his second trial in that role since Peterson went down in Week 12. Over the past two contests, Williams has scampered for 170 yards on 36 carries (4.7 average), numbers that likely won't allow backups D.J. Foster and Elijhaa Penny to encroach too much into his workload. Williams draws a favorable matchup in Week 15 against a Redskins defense that has allowed 4.3 yards per carry, the sixth-worst mark in the NFL.

Mack carried six times for 14 yards and failed to bring in his only target in Thursday's 25-13 loss to the Broncos.

Neither Mack nor Frank Gore got much work on the ground in a game that the Colts trailed for the majority of the second half. The rookie hasn't topped 46 rushing yards since Week 3, but much of that lackluster production can be directly correlated to his lack of opportunity. Factoring in Thursday's workload, Mack has only tallied double-digit carries once over the last nine contests. With the Colts playing out the string and Gore wrapping up his age-34 season, the 21-year-old could potentially see a bump in touches over the final two contests of the campaign.

Anderson rushed 30 times for 158 yards and failed to bring in his only target in Thursday's 25-13 win over the Colts.

The 26-year-old saw almost three times the rushing touches of backfield mate Devontae Booker, reconfirming his status as the clear-cut lead back. Anderson's rushing yardage was easily his highest of the season, and he's now logged 52 carries overall in the last pair of contests. He'll look to continue parlaying his robust volume into strong production when he faces the Redskins in a Week 16 road tilt.

Williams (shoulder) returned to a limited practice Thursday.

Per Chris Perkins of the Sun-Sentinel, if Williams is able to return to action Sunday against the Bills following a two-game absence, he could help ease the workload of Kenyan Drake, who has logged 56 touches over Miami's past two games. Given that Drake racked up 234 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in that span, Williams would likely be limited to complementary duty in a scenario where he is available this weekend.

McKinnon (shoulder) practiced in full Thursday.

Since Dalvin Cook suffered a torn ACL in Week 4, McKinnon has averaged 76.9 yards per game from scrimmage and scored five total touchdowns across nine outings. That said, McKinnon hasn't surpassed 60 scrimmage yards in five consecutive contests. After a brief reduction in reps Wednesday, he returned Thursday without limitations, setting himself up to take advantage of the Bengals' 19th-ranked defense Sunday.