NFL Player News

Hampton rushed once for minus-1 yard and wasn't targeted in the Chargers' 41-17 preseason loss to the 49ers on Thursday night.

The second-year pro was the first Chargers running back to touch the ball, and he and the rest of Los Angeles' first-team offense exited the game after that opening possession. Hampton's brief appearance was unsurprising considering his importance to the team's offense, and it remains to be seen if he or any of the rest of the unit's front-line players will see any time during next Thursday night's home preseason finale against the Rams.

Washington rushed nine times for 56 yards while catching two of three targets for 18 yards in Thursday's 22-20 preseason win over the Texans.

Washington has churned out an impressive 119 yards on 15 carries through two preseason games, averaging a robust 7.9 yards per carry thanks to a 56-yard run against the Cardinals in the previous game and a 33-yard run Thursday against the Texans. The rookie fourth-round pick out of Arkansas has shown nice burst in establishing himself as the favorite to back up Ashton Jeanty heading into Vegas' preseason finale against the 49ers next Thursday.

Marks rushed four times for 37 yards and a touchdown while catching his only target for six yards in Thursday's 22-20 preseason loss to the Raiders.

All of Marks' production came on a busy opening drive for the second-year running back, which he capped off with a 20-yard touchdown run. Once the games start to count, Marks is likely to share the backfield workload with David Montgomery, who didn't appear in Thursday's exhibition game. Montgomery is the favorite to handle most of the early-down work, while Marks could see most of his opportunities in passing situations. During Marks' rookie regular season, the 2025 fourth-round pick had three receiving touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

McCaffrey (undisclosed) will not play in Thursday night's preseason game against the Chargers, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

McCaffrey remains idle with "tightness," though he was on the field for pregame warmups Thursday and looked to be moving around normally. Coach Kyle Shanahan has continued to downplay McCaffrey's "injury" and said Tuesday that CMC would be practicing if it were the regular season. There's been nothing to suggest McCaffrey is in any sort of danger of missing Week 1 against the Rams in three weeks.

Benson (knee) has not been present for any portion of the Cardinals' previous two full-squad practices this week, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

After stretching with the team ahead of Monday's walkthrough practice, Benson hasn't since been seen by the media. He's been dealing with the knee injury all summer after missing the final 14 weeks of the 2025 campaign with an injury to the same knee. Unable to practice much or play so far this summer, Benson could be on the outside looking in for a roster spot, considering he doesn't play special teams.

The 49ers signed Herbert on Thursday.

Just three days after cutting Herbert, the Niners are bringing back the veteran running back after the team placed Patrick Taylor (undisclosed) on injured reserve in a corresponding move. Herbert carried the ball 16 times for 52 scoreless yards across seven regular-season appearances with the Jets last season. He faces an uphill battle to crack the 49ers' roster.

The 49ers placed Taylor (undisclosed) on injured reserve Thursday, David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

Taylor will spend the 2026 season on the Niners' injured list or he'll be released with an injury settlement, allowing him to look for work elsewhere. He missed all of last season following shoulder surgery. Taylor has carried the ball 104 times for 444 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 17-94-0 receiving line across 47 career regular-season contests.

The Athletic's Mike DeFabo believes Johnson is in real danger of being cut by the Steelers prior to the start of the regular season.

"Cutting a third-round pick one year after he's drafted would be a tough look for the Steelers, but it sure seems to be trending that direction based on the way the carries have been split in practices and in the first preseason game," DeFabo wrote Wednesday. While Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle rested, Johnson played behind both Travis Homer and Lew Nichols in the preseason opener last week and didn't see his first carry until the third quarter. He's buried on the depth chart and continues to make mistakes on special teams, as Johnson was seen getting chewed out on the sideline by special teams coordinator Danny Crossman against Green Bay last Thursday. Considering Johnson doesn't excel on special teams, and Homer does as the person protector on the punt team, the 2025 third-rounder Johnson may be on the outs with the new coaching staff. It might be best for Johnson to get a fresh start elsewhere after playing just 51 offensive snaps across 10 regular-season appearances as a rookie last season.

Judkins (undisclosed) didn't practice Thursday, but coach Todd Monken said afterward that the running back is tending to "a little something nagging, nothing big," Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports.

Judkins has missed back-to-back sessions due to an unspecified injury, but considering Monken's comment, the Browns nonetheless are taking a cautious approach with the second-year pro. As a rookie second-round pick in 2025, Judkins tallied 230 carries for 827 yards and seven touchdowns while hauling in 26 of 36 targets for 171 yards in 14 regular-season games before suffering a dislocated right ankle and broken right fibula Week 16 that required surgery. He was taking 11-on-11 drills as of mid-May and otherwise was back to 100 percent before the recent setback, health-wise. It's unclear if Judkins will suit up for Saturday's preseason contest against the Bills as a result.

Smith is listed as the No. 4 running back on the unofficial depth chart Kansas City released ahead of the preseason, Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star reports.

Smith has his work cut out for him to earn a role on offense, though the pecking order between Emari Demercado, Emmett Johnson and Smith is far from set in stone behind lead back Kenneth Walker. Even if Smith fails to move up the depth chart, he has a decent chance of making the 53-man roster thanks to his contributions on special teams. General manager Brett Veach said that Smith "adds value as a dynamic speed element and his return game as a punt kick returner."