NFL Player News

Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said he absolutely trusts Cook in pass protection, ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert reports.

Struggles in protection have kept many a rookie running back off the field, but Cook could prove to be an exception after handling passing-down work throughout much of his time at FSU. Latavius Murray (ankle) does have a strong reputation as a blocker, but he hasn't practiced since signing with the Vikings and still doesn't have a timetable to return. While he likely will have to share the first-team work in practice now that Jerick McKinnon is healthy, Cook is trending in the right direction to earn the lead back job for Week 1. The rookie has the highest ceiling among the trio as a pure runner, and he arguably also has the most potential to develop into a well rounded passing-down back capable of both picking up blitzes and gaining big chunks through the air.

Johnson (foot) returned to practice Wednesday, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Johnson reportedly injured his foot Monday, but given the limited severity of the injury, he was able to be get back to practicing quickly. While the quick turnaround does bode well for the 25-year-old competing for a final roster spot, he still has his work cut out for him moving forward.

Conner, whose shoulder injury is deemed minor, is a candidate to return to practice later this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Since he was drafted in the third round of this year's draft, Conner has missed time due to a hamstring strain and now a shoulder injury. Luckily, the latter isn't serious and should allow him to reclaim reps with the first team, assuming he's cleared for action in the near future and Le'Veon Bell's holdout continues. In the meantime, though, Knile Davis and Fitzgerald Toussaint are the most experienced running backs on the 90-man roster.

Anderson is getting more involved in the Broncos' passing game, the Broncos' official site reports.

As the post notes, Anderson broke onto the scene in 2014 with a 51-yard grab and dash against the Raiders, a game that vaulted him into a prominent place in the Broncos' offense. He's averaged just two catches per game in his career but has been dangerous at times with eight catches of 20 or more yards. With Devontae Booker, a strong pass catcher in his own right, a question mark to start the season, Anderson should have plenty of opportunities to assimilate to the Broncos' passing attack. Most interestingly, Anderson has reportedly shown good chemistry in the red zone with both Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch. There have been times over the years in which Anderson has done the heavy lifting on a drive only to have his reward vultured by Demaryius Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders in the form of a goal line fade. If Anderson can transfer his performances on the practice field to games, the shoe might be on the other foot this year.

Abdullah isn't under any restrictions entering training camp, Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.

Abdullah, who's bouncing back from a broken foot he sustained in Week 2 of last season, isn't even wearing a red no-contact jersey that most teams would give a player at risk of aggravating a prior injury. The third-year back has reportedly displayed impressive quickness in his cuts, so it truly looks like he's back to full health. Twentyman reports Abdullah is expected to receive somewhere around 200 carries this upcoming season as the Lions' lead back, which sounds about right for that role in head coach Jim Caldwell's offense. After all, Abdullah will share the backfield with pass-catching specialist Theo Riddick -- not to mention Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington on occasion, given Detroit's historical tendency to deploy a plus-size runner in short-yardage situations. In 2014, Caldwell's first season directing the team, Joique Bell handled 223 carries as the lead dog. In 2015, Abdullah and Bell split the load 143 to 90. Unfortunately, last season's injury-skewed distribution isn't really relevant.

Vereen was held out of practice Tuesday due to a "lower-body" injury, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports.

Head coach Ben McAdoo was ambiguous about the nature of the injury, but he also termed Vereen as "sore," so the running back may be merely feeling the aches and pains associated with an elevated workload. With Vereen absent, the Giants now have two members of the backfield sitting out -- also, Shaun Draughn (ankle) -- which is likely solidifying Paul Perkins even further as the unquestioned No. 1 back. No matter, if healthy, Vereen will contribute as a pass catcher, at the very least.

Williams saw action with the first-team offense in several situations at Tuesday's practice, according to Aaron Nagler of Packersnews.com.

Williams practiced with the starters Monday both in standard team sets and also in a two-minute drill simulation. Ty Montgomery is primed to open the season as the Packers' starting running back, but there will be a training-camp competition among three rookies to determine who is Montgomery's top backup, and Williams -- as the highest drafted player of the bunch -- is the early favorite for the job.

Elliott has been lining up in the slot and out wide in the early part of training camp as the Cowboys focus on ways to get him more involved in the passing game, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports. "Zeke can get more catches this year without him playing more plays," quarterback Dak Prescott said Monday. "I think just his ability with the ball in his hands is valuable to this offense. So in the passing game [if] the defense is giving us soft coverage, get it to him and let him do what's best. As you see, we've kind of given it to him a bunch out here already. And it's just the fact of that's just how the offense is going, that's what the defense is giving us. It's not that we're calling plays extra to give Zeke the ball."

As a rookie, Elliott caught 32 passes on 40 targets in 15 games, but running backs in offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's scheme have often hauled in 50 or more passes in a season, including DeMarco Murray's 57 in his final year with Dallas -- which leaves significant potential for growth in Elliott's receiving numbers in his second NFL campaign. Even if he has to serve a brief suspension to begin the season, the league's defending rushing champ could still find a way to improve on his fantasy value in 2017.

Josh Ferguson is ahead of Mack for the No. 3 running back position as training camp begins, the Indianapolis Star reports.

Mack will compete with Robert Turbin and Ferguson for backup work behind 34-year-old Frank Gore. It makes sense that Mack begins camp at No. 4 on the depth chart since he's a rookie (2017 fourth-round draft pick). However, he may have the most upside if Gore were to get hurt since he set the all-time rushing record at South Florida in just three seasons while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

Gordon (knee) has looked healthy throughout the beginning stages of the Chargers' training camp, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reports.

While the Chargers have yet to practice with pads on, Gordon has nevertheless looked explosive, bursting through the offensive line on a handful of carries. Now eight months removed from the knee and hip injuries that ended his 2016 campaign prematurely, Gordon is looking to break through the 1,000-yard rushing barrier that eluded him last season.