NFL Player News

The Patriots signed Williams' former teammate Mike Gillislee to a contract last week, and the Bills failed to match the offer to the restricted free agent by Monday's deadline.

That leaves Williams as the No. 2 back behind LeSean McCoy. It'll be interesting to see what the Bills do in a running back-heavy draft, where it appears they'll use one of their picks to provide some depth to the group. That said, the team has bigger needs at corner, safety, and wide receiver, so unless the Bills do something crazy with the No. 10 overall pick, Williams stands a good chance to at least be able to earn a shot at the key backup RB spot.

Gillislee will officially join the Patriots after the Bills declined to match the two-year, $6.4 million offer sheet he signed with New England last week, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site reports.

Gillislee now enters a backfield already headlined by Dion Lewis (hamstring), James White and Rex Burkhead, effectively ruling out the possibility of LeGarrette Blount returning to the Patriots in the process. Although Buffalo's decision not to match will cost New England a fifth-round pick, Gillislee provides the team with an ascending backfield talent. In 15 games last year as LeSean McCoy's primary backup, Gillislee rushed 101 times for 577 yards and eight touchdowns, while catching nine of 11 targets for 50 yards and another score.

Williams would be the favorite to step in as LeSean McCoy's top backup should the Bills choose not to match the offer sheet Mike Gillislee signed with the Patriots on Tuesday, Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com reports.

Williams' rise up the depth chart is far from assured, as the Bills have until Tuesday to decide on Gillislee's offer sheet, and even if the team doesn't match, the upcoming draft will provide plenty of options to bolster its backfield. A fifth-round selection last year, Williams took only 27 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown in 11 games while serving as the No. 3 running back for most of his rookie season. There isn't much competition on the current roster besides Gillislee, and the Bills do have more pressing needs -- namely cornerback and wide receiver -- to address in the early rounds of the upcoming draft.

Gordon, who participated in the team's first on-field workout of the offseason, is still recovering from knee and hip injuries that sidelined him for the final three games of the 2016 season, ESPN's Eric D. Williams reports.

Head coach Anthony Lynn seems to be happy with Gordon's recovery progression stemming from a Week 14 dual hip and knee strains, although he admits the team is taking it slowly with its former first-round pick. "Right now he's kind of doing more things straight ahead, and as we continue on he'll do more lateral movements. But right now he's doing good." One of last year's breakout running backs, Gordon figures to be a major part of the Chargers offense once he returns to full health, especially with former receiving threat Danny Woodhead now in Baltimore. While there's a chance Gordon could see his carries reduced given Lynn's hope to involve multiple running backs in the game plan, the Wisconsin alum should nevertheless be an attractive fantasy option come the start of the new year.

Magee officially signed his exclusive rights tender with the Seahawks on Tuesday, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Magee joined the Seahawks in late December and will now compete for a spot on the 53-man roster this offseason. The 24-year-old is one of 10 running backs in Seattle's young backfield, but his past experience with the team could separate him from the crowd.

Martin (suspension) joined the Bucs as expected for the start of offseason work Monday and made a positive impression on general manager Jason Licht, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. "He looks great right now; he looks as good as I've seen him since I've been here, from a physical standpoint," Licht said. "He was in very good spirits. We're excited to have him, excited to see how he does out here in OTAs."

Martin's physical and mental well-being has been the subject of considerable intrigue this offseason, although reports have consistently had him doing very well in all aspects after completing a rehabilitation program early in 2017. This is a particularly pivotal time of year for the former Pro Bowler's future with the Bucs, with Licht acknowledging that the early, pre-draft portion of OTAs is a golden opportunity for the running back to "assert his place with the team." That wording seems to at least partly imply that the team is giving serious consideration to investing a premium draft pick on a running back, and recent visits and workouts with the likes of Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Texas' D'Onta Foreman, and Oklahoma's Joe Mixon lend further credence to that theory. While the 10-day period preceding the draft naturally won't tell Tampa everything it needs to know about Martin's overall condition, the fact that he's arrived and looking as good as previously advertised is certainly a step in the right direction. Unwavering support expressed by team leaders Jameis Winston and Gerald McCoy on Monday also speaks volumes, and the reality is that the Bucs will likely take plenty of time to make a final decision on Martin's future, potentially even having him complete his suspension over the regular season's first three games before making a definitive call on his future.

The Patriots have extended an offer sheet to Gillislee, who is a restricted free agent, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.

Per the report, their offer is for two years and a total of $6.4 million, including $4 million in the first year of the proposed deal. According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, if the Bills don't match the offer, they'd receive a fifth-round draft pick from the Patriots. If Gillislee does end up with New England, it would effectively end the team's interest in re-signing power back LeGarrette Blount, who led the NFL with 18 rushing TDs in 2016, while averaging 3.9 yards a carry. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Gillislee put up some intriguing numbers of his own, running 101 times for 577 yards (5.7 YPC) and eight TDs in 15 games for Buffalo. He also caught nine passes for 50 yards and a receiving score. The Patriots' current backfield is comprised of newcomer Rex Burkhead, along with pass-catching aces Dion Lewis (hamstring) and James White, with D.J. Foster and Brandon Bolden in reserve.

Abdullah is committed to staying healthy and isn't worried about any added competition for snaps ahead of the 2017 season, ESPN's Michael Rothstein reports. "I'm never a guy to shy away from any situation, whether that's bringing in competition or just putting it all on me," Abdullah said. "We don't know the future. No one knows what's going to happen, really. I just know for what me and Theo [Riddick] give to this team, we need to be on the field and that's our goal this year, to be on the field."

Although Abdullah missed 14 regular season games as well as the Lions' lone playoff appearance last season with a torn ligament in his left foot, he isn't "injury prone" by any means; the 2015 second-rounder previously hadn't missed a contest since his days in high school. Of more concern to his fantasy stock is the potential for Detroit management to select a running back with an early pick in the upcoming draft. While Abdullah may not necessarily be worried about losing out on any snaps to a rookie, owners should be concerned over the possibility of the team adding a power runner that could operate as a headache-inducing touchdown vulture, which would effectively put a cap on Abdullah's upside.

Bohanon signed a contract with the Jaguars on Monday, Ryan O'Halloran of Jacksonville.com reports.

The Jaguars haven't utilized a fullback in two years but will break that trend by signing Bohanon, who was the lead blocker for Chris Ivory for three years with the Jets from 2013 to 2015. Coincidental or not, those three seasons were the most productive of Ivory's career.

Atkinson re-signed with the Browns on Monday.

Atkinson played in all 16 games with Cleveland last season but didn't see any rushing attempts until Week 17, when he had seven carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. He'll look to continue as a special teams player in 2017 while also pushing for a larger role in the offense.