NFL Player News

Gainwell rushed the ball 19 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 24-21 win over the Vikings. He added six receptions on six targets for 35 yards.

Jaylen Warren (knee) was surprisingly inactive Sunday morning, leaving Gainwell to fill in as Pittsburgh's lead back. He did so admirably, scoring touchdowns from one and four yards away while also ripping off long gains of 15 and 10 yards. Gainwell also remained active as a pass catcher, giving him a well-rounded fantasy line. The Steelers are headed into their bye week, meaning this may be Gainwell's only chance to handle this type of workload for the time being, but he proved plenty capable of handling the lead-back role if needed.

Scott carried the ball twice for one yard and caught six of eight targets for 43 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Steelers in Dublin.

The Vikings couldn't get much going on the ground and found themselves staring at a 21-6 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, so Scott saw a career-high workload as a pass catcher and capped a drive inside the final four minutes with a 16-yard TD reception, his first score in the NFL. Jordan Mason is locked into the top spot on the backfield depth chart for Minnesota as long as Aaron Jones (IR, hamstring) is sidelined, but Scott may have earned a more consistent role with this performance, beginning with a Week 5 tilt against the Browns in London.

Mason carried the ball 16 times for 57 yards and caught all three of his targets for 15 yards in Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Steelers in Dublin.

The former 49ers wasn't able to repeat his Week 3 breakout versus Cincinnati against a tougher front seven, and Mason's longest run against Pittsburgh went for only nine yards. He also saw backup RB Zavier Scott catch a 16-yard TD in the fourth quarter as Minnesota tried to come back from a 21-6 deficit. Things won't get any easier for Mason in Week 5, as he'll take on a Browns defense in London that has already stuffed Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs this season.

Pierce (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Titans.

With Pierce a healthy scratch once again, Nick Chubb and Woody Marks are poised to lead Houston's Week 4 backfield, with Dare Ogunbowale and British Brooks also available to mix in.

Neal (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Bills, Ross Jackson of WWL Louisiana reports.

Neal hasn't been active since Week 1, with Velus Jones instead taking the field thanks to his ability to contribute on special teams. Neal has had a slow start to his rookie season, earning only two carries for nine yards.

Hubbard (calf) is active for Sunday's game against the Patriots, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Hubbard was a limited participant in the Panthers' final two practices of Week 4 on account of the calf issue, but despite taking a questionable tag into Sunday, he looks like he'll be ready to handle his usual duties as Carolina's lead back. The 26-year-old has handled snap shares north of 60 percent in each of the Panthers' first three contests and has scored two touchdowns while averaging 80.7 yards from scrimmage on 17.6 touches per game.

Croskey-Merritt (knee) is active for Sunday's game against the Falcons.

The knee issue kept Croskey-Merritt from practicing Wednesday and Thursday, but he took a questionable tag into the weekend after logging a full session Friday. With Croskey-Merritt apparently bouncing back well following Friday's practice, he'll be available Sunday as part of a backfield committee with Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez, though quarterback Marcus Mariota and wide receiver Deebo Samuel could also factor into Washington's game plan on the ground. After Austin Ekeler (Achilles) suffered a season-ending injury in the Week 2 loss to the Packers, Croskey-Merritt played a season-high 40 percent of snaps in the Week 3 win over the Raiders, finishing with 26 yards and a touchdown on eight carries to go with a five-yard reception.

Gainwell is likely to serve as the Steelers' starting running back during Sunday's game against the Vikings in Dublin, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.

Though lead back Jaylen Warren (knee) was listed as questionable heading into Sunday, he had generally been expected to play until the Steelers made him inactive after he didn't respond as well to pregame warmups as the team had hoped. Warren should be ready to play following the Steelers' Week 5 bye, but his absence for the Ireland game clears the way for Gainwell to step into a more pronounced role. Gainwell served as the Steelers' clear No. 2 running back through the first three weeks of the season and has accrued a 16-55-1 rushing line and 7-30-0 receiving line on 10 targets, though he had seen his snap share trend down in each successive game. Expect Gainwell's playing time to dramatically increase out of necessity Sunday, though he could operate as the lead option of a committee rather than a true three-down back. The Steelers have made both Kaleb Johnson and Trey Sermon active for Week 4, and both could see some involvement on early downs in order to keep Gainwell fresh on passing downs.

Warren (knee) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Vikings in Dublin, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Though Warren had been listed as questionable heading into Sunday after he was a limited participant in practice all week due to a right knee injury, the prevailing belief heading into gameday was that he would be ready to handle his usual duties as the team's lead back. Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com, Warren was spotted warming up with a sleeve on his right leg earlier Sunday, but the 26-year-old ultimately didn't display enough progress for the Steelers to sign off on him playing. With Warren out of the mix, the Steelers will have Kenneth Gainwell, Kaleb Johnson and Trey Sermon as their available running backs in Week 4. With the benefit of a Week 5 bye, Warren should have sufficient time to heal from the knee issue and headline the Pittsburgh backfield in the team's next game Oct. 12 versus the Browns.

Swift (hip) is slated to play Sunday at Las Vegas, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Swift has operated with a cap on his practice reps the last two weeks, first due to a quad injury during Week 3 prep and then a hip issue prior to Week 4 action. He was able to handle 61 percent of the snaps during last Sunday's win against the Cowboys on his way to 16 touches for 78 yards from scrimmage. Swift's status wil receive clarity once the Bears post their inactive list about 90 minutes before this Sunday's 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.