NFL Player News

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Monday that Jones' left MCL sprain is considered a "multiple-week" injury, with the team subsequently ruling the running back out for Sunday's game against the Ravens, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.

Adam Schefter of ESPN previously reported that Jones' knee injury would likely sideline him for 3-to-6 weeks, making it highly probable that the rookie will miss additional time beyond Sunday's home date with Baltimore. Along with Jones, Ty Montgomery (ribs) also exited the Week 10 win over the Bears early with an injury, resulting in No. 3 back Jamaal Williams finishing out the contest as the team's lead runner with 20 carries for 67 yards. Since Montgomery is recovering from his second injury in six weeks, it's likely that he'll be limited against the Ravens if he plays at all, potentially paving the way for Williams to pick up a start out of the backfield and handle a three-down workload in the contest.

Williams could be in store for a sizable workload Sunday against the Ravens with Aaron Jones (knee) set to miss the next 3-to-6 weeks and Ty Montgomery (ribs) uncertain to play Week 11, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Williams entered the Packers' eventual Week 10 win over the Bears third on the depth chart at running back, but with both Jones and Montgomery departing the contest with injuries and unable to return, the rookie was forced into extended action. Though he averaged a meager 3.4 yards on his 20 carries, Williams impressed the Packers' coaching staff with his tough running in short-yardage scenarios, with his four-yard gain on a fourth-quarter carry on fourth down proving critical in a one-possession game. Head coach Mike McCarthy has yet to rule Montgomery out for Sunday's contest, but given that he's dealing with his second rib injury in six weeks, Montgomery likely won't be pressed into a featured role if given clearance to play. That should pave the way for Williams to lead the team in touches out of the backfield against a Ravens squad that ranks 28th in the NFL against the run this season.

Anderson rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries and added a one-yard catch in Sunday's 41-16 loss to New England.

It was Anderson's fourth game in five outings with fewer than 12 touches after starting the season with at least 20 touches in three of four games. The Broncos were at their best this season when Anderson served as the team's bell cow. Looking for a spark, the coaching staff has split touches between Anderson, Jamaal Charles and Devontae Booker. Head coach Vance Joseph said that it will be hard to ride any one back until Denver's offense gains some consistency. It looks like we're pretty far off from there at this point.

Magee was signed by the Falcons off the Browns' practice squad on Tuesday, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

The Falcons had an open spot on their 53-man roster, and with Devonta Freeman (concussion) likely out for the team's upcoming matchup against the Seahawks, they opted to scoop up Magee. Carries figure to be hard to come by for the 24-year-old, as he will still be the third running back on the depth chart even if Freeman sits out. However, he likely will provide help on special teams to go along with running back depth.

Conner has avoided the Steelers' injury report since limping off the field Sunday in Indianapolis.

Conner has received between one and eight offensive snaps in eight of nine games this season, but on his one such rep Sunday, he had a visible limp after a 12-yard gain. The lack of a designation in advance of Thursday's game against the Titans implies he'll be available as Le'Veon Bell's direct backup, per usual.

The Redskins placed Kelley (ankle) on injured reserve Tuesday, Stephen Czarda of the team's official site reports.

Kelley has been plagued by lower-body injuries all season, missing two of the first five games before appearing in each of the Redskins' last four outings. After sustaining a high-ankle sprain and a Grade 1 or 2 MCL sprain Sunday against the Vikings, the team opted for a safe approach and decided to shut him down for the year. Moving forward, Samaje Perine and Chris Thompson will receive most of the offensive reps in their respective realms, while Byron Marshall was plucked off the Eagles practice squad to serve as RB depth.

Grant had one carry for a 56-yard touchdown in Sunday's 20-17 win over the Chargers.

The stat line is a little misleading because it isn't as though Grant came in on offense and set the world on fire with a big play. The touchdown was part of a fake punt and within Grant's duties as a special-teams player. He's still squeezed out of the Jaguars backfield with the return of Leonard Fournette and did not appear on offense during Sunday's game.

Artis-Payne rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in Monday's 45-21 win over Miami.

Artis-Payne zig-zagged for a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter, putting Carolina up by three scores for his first score in over a year. Artis-Payne's seven carries were a season high and the bulk of his production came on one 43-yard gain. Given the beating Carolina put on Miami and the possible desire to conserve the rushing abilities of Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Stewart, Cam Newton and others, it is hard to predict whether Monday's performance will lead to similar performances down the line. At this point, it's probably worth waiting for an encore before taking Artis-Payne too seriously.

Ellington played 43 of 80 offensive snaps during Thursday's 22-16 loss to the Seahawks en route to two carries for four yards and one touchdown and three receptions (on six targets) for 26 yards.

In his return from a one-game absence Week 10, Ellington managed just 14 of the Cardinals' 77 offensive snaps, receiving two touches (both catches) in the process. On Thursday, he actually handled seven more snaps on offense than starting RB Adrian Peterson. Of course, Peterson was a workhorse on the ground with 21 rushes for 29 yards, and will typically contain Ellington primarily to pass-catching duty. On the season, Ellington is averaging 4.1 catches on 6.3 targets for 37.1 yards per game, but Thursday's TD marked his first of 2017.

Williams had nine rushes for 19 yards and two receptions for 20 yards as the Dolphins lost to the Panthers 45-21 on Monday.

Williams missed several practices during the week due to an illness, so perhaps a subpar game should have been expected here. Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, Kenyan Drake had a solid night with 82 yards rushing, including a touchdown run of 66 yards, and may be in line to take away more snaps from Williams as the season moves along.