NFL Player News

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said Perine will get most of the carries Sunday against the 49ers, Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post reports.

With Rob Kelley (ankle) already considered a long shot to play, Perine has a good shot at double-digit carries for the third time this season. The rookie is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and hasn't added much of anything (two catches for six yards) in the passing game, but his Week 6 role nonetheless gives him a decent shot to reach the end zone with the Redskins expected to put up plenty of points. Chris Thompson will continue to dominate passing-down snaps.

Oliver (hamstring) returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis.

Oliver didn't practice at all last week, so he's moving in the right direction. However, steady touches aren't on tap for him as long as starter Melvin Gordon remains healthy. Meanwhile, fellow reserve back Austin Ekeler has made some plays in recent weeks and poses a threat to Oliver's workload once he's back.

Washington (quad) was a limited participant at Wednesday's practice.

This marks Washington's first practice participation of any kind since he injured his quad in a Week 2 win over the Giants. His return wouldn't have much impact on the Detroit offense, considering Washington and Zach Zenner have combined for 18 carries (nine apiece) and zero targets in five games this season. Zenner did vulture a one-yard touchdown from Ameer Abdullah in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Panthers, so Washington could handle goal-line work once he returns, which would come at the expense of Zenner.

Foreman was limited at practice Wednesday due to a hip injury.

Foreman, who carried four times for 34 yards in last Sunday's loss to the Chiefs, is a worthy roster stash, given that he's a Lamar Miller injury away from a steady role in the Houston attack. In Week 5, Miller logged 56 out of a possible 64 snaps on offense, while Foreman was out there for just nine plays.

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said Wednesday that Kelley (ankle) is a "long shot" to suit up Sunday against the 49ers.

Kelley was knocked out of the Redskins' last game in Week 4 due to a sprained ankle, and even after a bye week, he hasn't progressed beyond conditioning work. Gruden told John Keim of ESPN.com that Kelley must "make major strides" to make an appearance in Week 6. If Kelley is unable to attain such status, Samaje Perine will again lead the Redskins backfield Sunday, while Chris Thompson holds down his typical change-of-pace role.

West (calf) didn't practice Wednesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports.

After aggravating a calf injury in Sunday's 30-17 win over the Raiders, West is expected to miss at least one game, though the Ravens remain optimistic he won't require a long-term absence. It will be a surprise if West practices in any capacity this week as the team prepares for a home game against the Bears. Javorius Allen and Alex Collins are expected to split snaps and touches.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that Rawls and Eddie Lacy will both share the workload fairly evenly to compensate for the likely season-ending injury to Chris Carson (lower leg/ankle), Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports. "There's no reason to have any criteria for [who starts and who doesn't] right now because we like our guys, and really, equal status now is good for us," Carroll said of Rawls and Lacy. "We'll see how they do."

Carroll's comments about "equal status" were more or less supported by how he doled out the offensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Rams, the first game the Seahawks played without the services of Carson. Rawls, who had been a healthy scratch in the Week 4 win over the Colts, was on the field for 32 snaps to Lacy's 19. Neither back produced particularly well, however, as Rawls tallied 24 yards on 13 carries to go with two catches for 15 yards, while Lacy managed 19 yards on nine handoffs and hauled in his lone target for nine yards. The duo should split most of the carries in Week 6 against the Giants, but don't be surprised if Carroll eventually settles on one of the two as the lead back if Rawls dramatically outperforms Lacy, or vice versa.

Williams lost two yards on three carries in Sunday's 34-7 loss to Philadelphia.

Williams has carried the ball five times in the past three weeks and has no yardage. He was a lower-level player even after David Johnson's injury with just five offensive snaps on Sunday. It's probably safe to assume that those snaps will fade into oblivion with the arrival of Adrian Peterson.

Vereen nabbed four of five targets for 27 yards and added 18 yards on four carries in Sunday's 27-22 loss to the Chargers.

The nine touches tied a season high for Vereen, but don't be surprised if that climbs in the coming weeks. Both Paul Perkins (ribs) and Orleans Darkwa (calf) are on the mend and questionable to start the week with injuries. In the meantime, the Giants' receiving options are dropping like flies. Always best used as a scat back, Vereen might be the Giants' answer to the production lost by injuries. In fact, they seem a sprained ankle away from not having much of a choice but to lean on Vereen.

The Vikings are optimistic that Cook (knee), who underwent season-ending surgery Monday to repair a torn left ACL, will be 100 percent healthy for the start of the 2018 campaign, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. "No real further damage in Cook's knee, thankfully," Vikings athletic trainer Eric Sugarman said Tuesday. "Pretty straight ACL. And I'd hope to expect him at training camp next year."

Cook, a second-round pick out of Florida State, emerged as one of the top backs in the league through the first quarter of the season, racking up 444 total yards and two touchdowns to revive a Vikings ground game that struggled mightily in 2016. However, after tearing his ACL in Week 4, the rookie will now embark on a nine-plus-month recovery process, resulting in Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray taking over as the Vikings' primary rushers. While McKinnon in particular impressed in the Week 5 win over the Bears, neither player boasts a comparable all-around skill set to Cook, who should take back the starting gig in 2018 if his knee heals as anticipated.