NFL Player News

Crossan (undisclosed) was waived with an injury designation Tuesday, Oliver Thomas of the PFWA reports.

The nature of Crossan's injury wasn't reported. He'll likely revert to injured reserve if he clears waivers.

Elliott filed his appeal of a six-game suspension with the NFL on Tuesday, ESPN.com reports.

The move is procedural but expected, as Elliott seeks a reduction of his ban for a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league office must schedule a hearing within 10 days of receiving paperwork from the running back, but it's unclear if an adjustment, if any, will occur before the regular season kicks off. At the moment, Elliott can attend all practices and play in all preseason games before the final roster cut date of Sept. 2, at which point the suspension will begin.

Williams, who was limited to 27 carries for 94 yards in 11 games last season, has looked "much more confident" in training camp, Canio Marasco of the Bills' official site reports.

Williams saw limited work as rookie in 2016, working behind LeSean McCoy and Mike Gillislee. With Gillislee no longer in the mix, Williams merits draft consideration, given that he'd likely get most of the Bills' carries should anything happen to McCoy. That said, veteran Mike Tolbert is also on hand and is a candidate to carve out a short-yardage role in the team's offense.

Gillislee continues to miss practice due to a hamstring issue, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports.

Gillislee, who sat out the Patriots' preseason opener, thus looks unlikely to suit up for Saturday's game against the Texans. Once healthy, Gillislee will re-enter the Patriots' backfield mix, where he'll face competition from fellow offseason acquisition Rex Burkhead, as well as pass-catching aces James White and Dion Lewis. It's a deep and versatile positional group, but Gillislee appears best-equipped to absorb the the greatest share of the short-yardage duties dominated last year by LeGarrette Blount.

Mathews (neck) was released by the Eagles on Tuesday after passing his physical, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The move will save the Eagles approximately $4 million in salary-cap space, and was fully expected after the team signed free agent LeGarrette Blount to head their backfield in 2017. Now that he's been cleared following offseason surgery to address a herniated disk in his neck, Mathews will look to catch on elsewhere. There are several teams in need of running-back depth, but first Mathews will need to re-prove his health and conditioning in order to be in a position to make a run at a starting or backup job, no matter where he lands.

Mathews (neck) has been medically cleared, with a decision on his future likely coming at some point Tuesday, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Eagles widely are expected to release the 29-year-old running back, who carries a non-guaranteed $4 million base salary. It seems Mathews' only chance to stick with the team would involve taking a pay cut to something much closer to the veteran's minimum. He does still have time to find a new team before Week 1, though it'll be tough to earn a meaningful role at this stage.

Conner (shoulder) was a full participant at Monday's practice, Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Although the Steelers weren't in full pads, Conner's continued ability to practice puts him one step closer to making his NFL debut in Sunday's preseason game against the Falcons. The 2017 third-round pick is competing with Fitzgerald Toussaint and Knile Davis to serve as the top backup to Le'Veon Bell, who still hasn't signed his franchise tender. Conner has been practicing in some capacity since last Tuesday.

Drake (head) has been placed in the NFL's concussion protocol, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.

Drake was injured at Monday's practice on a head-to-head collision. He'll be held out for at least Thursday's preseason game against the Ravens, which should leave more snaps for Damien Williams, who is jostling with Drake for backup work. Meanwhile, starter Jay Ajayi has been removed from the league's concussion protocol, more than two weeks after initially suffering the injury.

Mathews (neck) returned to Philadelphia on Monday to meet with the Eagles' medical staff, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Mathews is set to undergo a scan on his herniated disk and meet with team doctors Tuesday, at which point he could receive full clearance to return to the practice field. If that's the case, the Eagles are expected to quickly release Mathews, a move that would save them $4 million in cap space. In 13 games last season, the 29-year-old averaged 4.3 yards per carry en route to 661 yards and eight touchdowns. He also hauled in 13 passes for 115 yards and another score.

Gordon (knee) carried the ball six times for 14 yards in Sunday's preseason loss to the Seahawks.

Gordon and the rest of the first string barely played, ceding control to the second unit after an extended drive in the first quarter. While Gordon didn't break off any long runs, the Chargers were happy to see their star back make it through the first preseason contest unscathed, especially in light of the team's recent injury woes.