NFL Player News

McCaffrey gained 21 yards on seven carries and 12 yards on one reception in Thursday's preseason game against Jacksonville.

While not as efficient as he was the past two weeks, McCaffrey encouragingly split work with Jonathan Stewart on the opening drive, finishing with five touches to the veteran's four during that series. The only disappointment was Carolina's failure to use the two backs on the field at the same time, with Russell Shepard appearing to get all of the first-team snaps at slot receiver. Even if packages involving both backs are very limited, the Panthers clearly are intent on keeping both McCaffrey and Stewart heavily involved in the offense. Stewart gained 39 yards on five carries, thanks to a 31-yard gain on a toss play on the first snap of the game

Murray (ankle) is expected to play in Sunday's preseason game against the 49ers, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Murray is on pace to make his awaited preseason debut in Minnesota on Sunday, having returned to practice earlier this week. Rookie second-rounder Dalvin Cook has an edge on the starting running back job, however, so Murray could be limited to a complementary role when Week 1 rolls around.

Rawls (ankle) will not play in Friday's preseason game against the Chiefs, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.

Rawls' minor ankle issue will keep him sidelined for the Seahawks' dress rehearsal Friday, though coach Pete Carroll believes he could play if it were a regular-season contest. The team may elect to play it safe with Rawls next week as well, potentially ruling him out for the preseason finale against the Raiders in hopes of full health come Week 1.

Foreman in not participating in Thursday's practice due to a leg injury, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The severity and origin of Foreman's leg injury is unclear at this point, but his potential availability for Saturday's preseason contest against the Saints is now in question. He's racked up 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries through two preseason games thus far, but remains behind Lamar Miller and incumbent backup Alfred Blue on the Texan's posted depth chart. Tyler Ervin could see an increased role out of the backfield Saturday if Foreman is ultimately unable to play. Looking ahead to the regular season, Foreman may not provide immediate fantasy dividends, but his combination of size (6-foot-1, 233 pounds) and athleticism could be parlayed into utility on that front down the road, in the event of an injury to Miller.

Elliott (suspension) is expected to make his preseason debut Saturday against the Raiders, Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Thursday he intends to deploy Elliott with the first-team offense for a few series during Dallas' third preseason tilt Saturday. This would likely be the No. 1 running back's only action of the preseason, however, with an appeal hearing for his six-game suspension looming Aug. 29. Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris are slated to work as complements behind Elliott on Saturday, but all three figure to see snaps with the first team.

The Steelers opted to waive Brown-Dukes on Wednesday, TribLive.com reports.

Brown-Dukes, who signed with the team in June, did not have much to be optimistic about in terms of his chances of making it through final cuts. The 25-year-old was stuck as the seventh running back on the depth chart. He presumably will clear waivers and look for an opportunity with another team.

Carey underwent wrist surgery and is expected to miss about six weeks, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Carey was assumed to be in a battle for a roster spot with Jeremy Langford going into the preseason, and this injury won't help Carey's chances to win the job. Even if he makes the team, Carey is expected to be buried on the depth chart behind Jordan Howard (eye), Tarik Cohen and Bennie Cunningham, so his fantasy value is quite limited.

Gillislee (hamstring), who returned to practice Tuesday, suited up again Wednesday, the Patriots' official site reports.

Per ESPN.com, Gillislee, who practiced fully Tuesday, is a candidate to make his preseason debut Friday against the Lions. Following his return to the field, Gillislee revealed that an MRI on his injured hamstring came back clean, adding that he feels 100 percent at this stage. After missing time of late, Gillislee will look to establish his role in the New England offense, which could include him carving out a majority of the team's short-yardage duties, which were dominated last year by LeGarrette Blount. Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Rex Burkhead has missed two straight practices, while James White and Dion Lewis profile as pass-catching aces in the Patriots' backfield. Ultimately, the team's tendency to parse our carries in a game-plan-specific manner figures to lead to a degree of volatile fantasy production from any component of what looks like a deep and versatile backfield. That said, if Gillislee does indeed claim the bulk of the the goal-line opportunities, he'll provide value in TD-heavy formats.

Pumphrey has been struggling at practice, Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice reports.

There was some talk about Pumphrey entering Week 1 with a significant role when he got snaps with the first-team offense during the offseason program and into the first few days of training camp. It increasingly seems the rookie is merely being groomed as the successor to Darren Sproles, with Pumphrey's 2017 involvement largely dependent on his mentor's ability to stay healthy. Given that he won't contribute on special teams unless he wins a return job, Pumphrey could be a game-day inactive to start the season. Philadelphia might also stash him on injured reserve, though he seems to be healthy at the moment.

While he's happy about Perine's growth, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Wednesday that he still has full confidence in Rob Kelley and is excited about having the second-year player as his starting running back, Mike Jones of The Washington Post reports.

Gruden seems to be shutting down any notion of a true job battle, after Perine's impressive showing in Saturday 's exhibition against the Packers reinvigorated the hype surrounding the rookie. Perine did well to gain 45 yards on eight carries and 29 yards on one target, but his prior preseason outing was a complete disaster that included a dropped pass, a fumble, issues in pass protection and a 6-15-0 rushing line. He still has time to push for a significant role early in the year, but the Week 1 starting gig may already be out of the question.